- benign neglect
- noun Date: 1970 an attitude or policy of ignoring an often delicate or undesirable situation that one is held to be responsible for dealing with
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
benign neglect
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benign neglect — Neglect Neg*lect , n. [L. neglectus. See {Neglect}, v.] 1. Omission of proper attention; avoidance or disregard of duty, from heedlessness, indifference, or willfulness; failure to do, use, or heed anything; culpable disregard; as, neglect of… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Benign neglect — For the British policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws see Salutary neglect. Benign neglect was a policy proposed in the late 1960s by New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was at the time on Nixon s White House Staff as … Wikipedia
benign neglect — /bənaɪn nəˈglɛkt/ (say buhnuyn nuh glekt) noun neglect which has beneficial results, possibly better results than if there had been active involvement or concern: a foreign policy of benign neglect …
benign neglect — noun non interference which has the effect of being more beneficial than continual attention … English new terms dictionary
benign neglect — noun : an attitude or policy of ignoring an often undesirable situation that one is perceived to be responsible for dealing with … Useful english dictionary
Neglect — Neg*lect , n. [L. neglectus. See {Neglect}, v.] 1. Omission of proper attention; avoidance or disregard of duty, from heedlessness, indifference, or willfulness; failure to do, use, or heed anything; culpable disregard; as, neglect of business,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
neglect — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun ADJECTIVE ▪ general, total ▪ relative ▪ benign ▪ The 18th century interior of the building has survived through benign neglect. ▪ … Collocations dictionary
benign — [[t]bɪna͟ɪn[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n You use benign to describe someone who is kind, gentle, and harmless. They are normally a more benign audience... Critics of the scheme take a less benign view. Syn: charitable Derived words: benignly ADV … English dictionary
neglect — [[t]nɪgle̱kt[/t]] neglects, neglecting, neglected 1) VERB If you neglect someone or something, you fail to look after them properly. [V n] The woman denied that she had neglected her child... [V n] Feed plants and they grow, neglect them and they … English dictionary
neglect — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) Disregard Nouns 1. neglect, negligence, carelessness, heedlessness, thoughtlessness, dereliction, delinquency; omission, oversight, laches, default; benign neglect; rashness; procrastination. See… … English dictionary for students
