inattentive
Americanadjective
-
Inattentive or careless driving is a serious issue, and cell phones clearly contribute to it.
- Synonyms:
- thoughtless, slipshod, slapdash, remiss, regardless, neglectful, irresponsible, careless
- Antonyms:
- mindful, thoughtful, careful
-
characterized by or exhibiting a lack of focus or concentration.
Most children are occasionally inattentive, distractible, impulsive, or highly active.
- Synonyms:
- oblivious, faraway, dreamy, distracted, abstracted, absent-minded, absent, ditzy, unmindful, heedless, distrait, preoccupied
- Antonyms:
- mindful, thoughtful, careful
adjective
Other Word Forms
- inattention noun
- inattentively adverb
- inattentiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of inattentive
Explanation
Someone who's inattentive isn't paying enough attention. An inattentive lunch companion might spend the whole meal texting on his phone. Inattentive people are sometimes distracted, like an inattentive babysitter who loses track of the kids he's watching at the playground. You can also be inattentive simply through indifference or boredom — if you're inattentive at the opera, you're not paying attention to it because you're not interested in it. Inattentive tacks the "not" prefix in- onto attentive, from the Latin root attendere, "give heed to" or "stretch toward."
Vocabulary lists containing inattentive
Absent
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Absent
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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.
In Europe, for example, where Musk has said he hopes to win approval for FSD as soon as February, carmakers are mandated to have effective strategies to warn inattentive drivers.
From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025
Humans are not just inattentive; they are irrational in a profoundly emotional sense.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2025
A new study calculates that exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood altered the balance of mental health in the U.S. population, making generations of Americans more depressed, anxious and inattentive or hyperactive.
From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2024
Athletes and entertainers lose money because they’re inattentive, make risky investments and overspend on loved ones and expensive toys, financial experts say.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2024
Her grown children had left home, and her husband was inattentive, and she was depressed.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions 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.
