How to Use neglectful in a Sentence

neglectful

adjective
  • Bungie has been somewhat neglectful of raid exotics for a long, long time now.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes, 31 May 2021
  • Cases are rare of children killed by an abusive or neglectful guardian.
    — Tim Prudente, baltimoresun.com, 8 Sep. 2021
  • Cases are rare of children killed by an abusive or neglectful guardian.
    — Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2021
  • Parents, even the well-meaning ones, tend to be neglectful, or also dead.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Roach said the community has seen too many tragedies caused by neglectful gun owners.
    — Vic Ryckaert, Indianapolis Star, 27 June 2017
  • Many are at home all day with parents who might be abusive, neglectful, or simply overwhelmed.
    — Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Mar. 2021
  • Some had been removed from abusive or neglectful homes after being burned.
    — Jenna Russell, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Aug. 2019
  • The story follows a neglectful father who is put under a spell by his son and is forced to tell only the truth.
    — Matt Drudge, WIRED, 3 Jan. 1997
  • For the moment at least, no one can accuse me of being self-absorbed and neglectful, either.
    — Lucinda Rosenfeld, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Just like his neglectful father did, the scribe devalues his wife and child to chase someone else’s idea of success.
    — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 3 Dec. 2024
  • In the movie, the problem is the children’s behavior, brought on by a neglectful father.
    — Anita Gates, New York Times, 26 May 2024
  • Permissive parents are not the same thing as neglectful parents.
    — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, 28 June 2023
  • Permissive parents are not the same thing as neglectful parents.
    — Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, 28 June 2023
  • Therefore, the sport is neglectful of Black women’s swimming needs.
    — Washington Post, 23 July 2021
  • Take a more hands-off approach and you’re accused of being uninvolved or neglectful.
    — Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
  • Clearly, some parents may be neglectful, or not engaged in the best parenting.
    — Jason D. Seacat, Hartford Courant, 20 Dec. 2024
  • Child abuse, neglectful foster parents, the ways in which the system grossly fails children.
    — Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2019
  • Stress Factors There a few factors, mostly neglectful, that can cause stress on your peace lily.
    — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 25 Mar. 2025
  • Fail at these simple tasks and your Tamagotchi suffers a gruesome, neglectful death.
    — Sebastian Skov Andersen, Wired, 23 Nov. 2021
  • To do otherwise is neglectful and selfish.
    — Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 8 May 2026
  • Pass bylaws that give tenants the right to live in rat-free housing, holding neglectful landlords to account.
    — WIRED, 7 Oct. 2023
  • Sam, meanwhile, feels that his dad is both overbearing and neglectful of his music dreams, and tensions run high between them.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
  • There's a theme here of absent, neglectful fathers—and in the case of Miller, outright abusive fathers.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 27 Nov. 2020
  • Below, a few of my favorite books about bad mothering, from the benignly neglectful to the downright evil.
    — Sarah Harman, People.com, 11 May 2025
  • All kids who need ADD meds aren't suffering and their parents aren't neglectful.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2018
  • Cruz has now joined a long line of neglectful politicians whose public slip-ups in failing to care for their animals reveal some deep cruelty.
    — Elly Belle, refinery29.com, 19 Feb. 2021
  • The Times described harrowingly neglectful care, and said that at least six patients had died after treatment.
    — Tad Friend, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Many of the animals were found living in neglectful and abusive conditions, officials said.
    — Joseph Buczek, CBS News, 18 Dec. 2025
  • And this isn’t to say Hackman didn’t turn in one of the best performances of his career as neglectful patriarch Royal.
    — Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Parents could be accused of neglectful supervision if an underage child is left at home unattended.
    — Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'neglectful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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