Ignorieren

Ignorieren is a German verb meaning to ignore, to pay no attention to, or to disregard something or someone. It implies a deliberate act of not acknowledging or acting on a stimulus, rather than simply failing to notice it.

Etymology and usage context: The verb is a loanword in German, borrowed from French ignorer or Latin ignorare, meaning to not know or to be ignorant. In German, ignorieren is used in everyday speech as a neutral to negative term depending on context, often describing a conscious choice to overlook information, a person, or an instruction.

Conjugation and grammar: Ignorieren is a regular (weak) verb. Present tense forms are ich ignoriere, du ignorierst, er ignoriert, wir ignorieren, ihr ignoriert, sie ignorieren. The simple past is ich ignorierte, du ignoriertest, er ignorierte, wir ignorierten, ihr ignoriertet, sie ignorierten. The perfect tense uses have: ich habe ignoriert, du hast ignoriert, er hat ignoriert. It takes a direct object in the accusative: jemanden ignorieren, etwas ignorieren. The noun form das Ignorieren refers to the act of ignoring; Ignoranz is a related noun meaning a broader ignorance or lack of knowledge.

Nuances and examples: Ignorieren contrasts with overlook or miss in the sense of accidental noticing (übersehen). It conveys intentionality. Examples: Sie ignoriert seine Nachrichten. Er ignoriert Warnhinweise, bis etwas schiefgeht. Das Ignorieren von Hinweisen kann Konsequenzen haben.

See also: related terms include beachten (to pay attention, antonym), Ignoranz (ignorance), and other pragmatic expressions about attention and acknowledgement.