inattentive

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌɪnəˈtɛntɪv/ UK /ˌɪnəˈtɛntɪv/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
not paying attention; heedless or neglectful

An inattentive driver drifted across the centerline.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not paying attention;... distracted heedless negligent absent-minded careless unobservant

Opposites

attentive alert observant focused

Word family

Derived forms inattentivelyinattentiveness

Related forms attentive inattention attend

Etymology

From in- ('not') + attentive, from Latin attentus, past participle of attendere ('to give heed to'), from ad- ('to') + tendere ('to stretch').

attendere Latin tendere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# inattentive

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪnəˈtɛntɪv/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪnəˈtɛntɪv/

## Meanings
1. not paying attention; heedless or neglectful

## Examples
- An inattentive driver drifted across the centerline.

## Synonyms
- distracted
- heedless
- negligent
- absent-minded
- careless
- unobservant

## Antonyms
- attentive
- alert
- observant
- focused

## Derived Forms
- inattentively
- inattentiveness

## Related Forms
- attentive
- inattention
- attend

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: attendere
- Root: tendere

## Etymology
From in- ('not') + attentive, from Latin attentus, past participle of attendere ('to give heed to'), from ad- ('to') + tendere ('to stretch').

## AI Etymology
Inattentive comes from in- ('not') + attentive, from Latin attentus, past participle of attendere ('to give heed to'), from ad- ('to') + tendere ('to stretch'). The etymological trail includes Latin attendere and Latin tendere. As an adjective, inattentive means not paying attention; heedless or neglectful. The same family is visible in derived forms such as inattentively and inattentiveness and related forms such as attentive, inattention, and attend. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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