remiss
Americanadjective
-
negligent, careless, or slow in performing one's duty, business, etc..
He's terribly remiss in his work.
- Synonyms:
- neglectful, slack, lax, thoughtless, derelict
-
characterized by negligence or carelessness.
- Synonyms:
- neglectful, slack, lax, thoughtless, derelict
adjective
-
lacking in care or attention to duty; negligent
-
lacking in energy; dilatory
Synonym Usage
See neglect.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of remiss
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin remissus, past participle of remittere “to send back, slacken, relax”; see remit
Explanation
If it's your turn to bring in the coffee and donuts for your early morning meeting, and you forget, then your co-workers can say that you were remiss in fulfilling your responsibility to keep them awake with sugar and caffeine. Don't expect to get much done at your meeting. The adjective remiss is often used in the phrase "remiss in one's duty." The principal was remiss in her duty to tell parents about the incident at school. After the parents heard about it from their kids, the principal received several angry phone calls wondering why the school had been locked down for loose farm animals.
Vocabulary lists containing remiss
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I’d be remiss not to heap praise on the sisters Mara, who bring something to the screen that I haven’t seen in quite some time.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask your approach for your album and how you swapped the typical 440 Hz for 432 Hz.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Another Labour MP, Stella Creasy, said it would be "remiss" of the government to ignore the concerns of her colleagues.
From BBC ● May 23, 2025
Shawnee Smith in "Saw" However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t consider the “Saw” movies, which sit at the other end of Perkins’ spectrum of pastiche.
From Salon ● Feb. 26, 2025
The chaplain shook his head, feeling despicably remiss because he did not know how to delegate responsibility and had no initiative, and because he really had been tempted to disagree with the colonel.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
