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Nurture vs Neglect - What's the difference?

nurture | neglect |

As nouns the difference between nurture and neglect

is that nurture is the act of nourishing or nursing; tender care; education; training while neglect is the act of neglecting.

As verbs the difference between nurture and neglect

is that nurture is to nourish or nurse while neglect is to fail to care for or attend to something.

nurture

English

(Webster 1913)

Noun

(en noun)
  • The act of nourishing or nursing; tender care; education; training.
  • That which nourishes; food; diet.
  • (Spenser)
  • The environmental influences that contribute to the development of an individual; see also nature.
  • * Milton
  • A man neither by nature nor by nurture wise.

    Verb

    (nurtur)
  • To nourish or nurse.
  • (figuratively, by extension) To encourage, especially the growth or development of something.
  • * 2009 , UNESCO, The United Nations World Water Development Report – N° 3 - 2009 – Freshwater and International Law (the Interplay between Universal, Regional and Basin Perspectives) , page 10, ISBN 9231041363
  • The relationships between universal norms and specific norms nurture the development of international law.

    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