the.com/neglect
Neglect harms slowly, by leaving someone's needs unmet rather than by any single cruel act.
means To fail to give someone or something the care or attention they need, letting it suffer by default rather than by design.
from From Latin neglegere, 'to disregard,' itself built from nec (not) and legere (to pick up, gather, or pay heed to — the same root that gives us 'collect' and 'select'). So the word's core image is startlingly literal: something was there to be picked up, and the hand simply never reached for it.
- not passive
- Requires ongoing choice, disguised as inaction
- legal weight
- Can be prosecuted as harshly as abuse
- slow damage
- Harms accumulate quietly, surface catastrophically later
- plant test
- Even houseplants die from attention, not malice