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Neglect vs Deflect - What's the difference?

neglect | deflect |

As verbs the difference between neglect and deflect

is that neglect is (label) to fail to care for or attend to something while deflect is to make (something) deviate from its original path.

As a noun neglect

is the act of neglecting.

neglect

English

Verb

(en verb)
  • (label) To fail to care for or attend to something.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • I hope / My absence doth neglect no great designs.
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • This, my long suffering and my day of grace, / Those who neglect and scorn shall never taste.
  • (label) To omit to notice; to forbear to treat with attention or respect; to slight.
  • (label) To fail to do or carry out something due to oversight or carelessness.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2014-06-14, volume=411, issue=8891, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= It's a gas , passage=One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.

    Derived terms

    * benign neglect * neglectful * neglectfully * neglectfulness

    Noun

  • The act of neglecting.
  • The state of being neglected.
  • Habitual lack of care.
  • Synonyms

    * carelessness * negligence

    deflect

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make (something) deviate from its original path.
  • To deviate from its original path.
  • (figuratively) To avoid addressing (questions, criticism, etc.).
  • The Prime Minister deflected some increasingly pointed questions by claiming he had an appointment.
  • (figuratively) To divert (attention, etc.).
  • * 2013 , Luke Harding and Uki Goni, Argentina urges UK to hand back Falklands and 'end colonialism'' (in ''The Guardian , 3 January 2013)[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/02/argentina-britain-hand-back-falklands]
  • Critics suggest that Fernández, an unashamed populist and nationalist, is seeking to deflect attention from social disharmony at home.