What is the difference between "neglect" and "negligence"? [closed]
Solution 1:
Personally, I'd interpret neglect as "willful negligence". Meaning negligence can be unintended, but neglect is an active decision to ignore something. This is a somewhat subjective interpretation though.
For the most part, they are synonymous. However, especially in legal terms, there is a difference in definition.
Source example
When used in legal terms, according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, neglect means ‘a disregard of duty resulting from carelessness, indifference, or willfulness; especially : a failure to provide a child under one’s care with proper food, clothing, shelter, supervision, medical care, or emotional stability.’
According to the same dictionary, negligence, when used in a legal sense means ‘failure to exercise the degree of care expected of a person of ordinary prudence in like circumstances in protecting others from a foreseeable and unreasonable risk of harm in a particular situation.’ it often refers to neglect of a building. So when it comes to legal terms, neglect is usually used in reference to people, and negligence is usually used in reference to things.
Solution 2:
I suppose you are talking about the noun neglect :
- The act of neglecting.
- The state of being neglected.
- Habitual lack of care.
and negligence :
- The state of being negligent.
- (law, singular only) The tort whereby a duty of reasonable care was breached, causing damage: any conduct short of intentional or reckless action that falls below the legal standard for preventing unreasonable injury.
- (law, uncountable) The breach of a duty of care: the failure to exercise a standard of care that a reasonable person would have in a similar situation.
So, it looks like they are synonyms.
Etymologically, "negligence" comes from old french while "neglect" comes directly from latin, and might be considered as purer.
However, they are both principally used in law where "negligence" is an area of tort law while "neglect" is a passive form of abuse.