neglectful
adjective
neglectful is spelled N-E-G-L-E-C-T-F-U-L: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 55,433rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, neglectful means “Tending to neglect; failing to take care of matters which require attention; forgetful” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in neglectful?
| Letters | 10: N-E-G-L-E-C-T-F-U-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 55,433rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is neglectful?
Neglectful appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 55,433rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce neglectful?
Neglectful has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of neglectful
- more neglectful comparative
- most neglectful superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does neglectful mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Tending to neglect; failing to take care of matters which require attention; forgetful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Neglectful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tending to neglect:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | négligent |
| German | nachlässig |
| Portuguese | negligente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does neglectful come from?
From neglect + -ful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).