Onoplettend

Onoplettend is a Dutch adjective meaning not attentive or distracted. The term describes a person who fails to pay full attention to a task, detail, or situation, either temporarily or as a more habitual pattern. It is commonly used in education, driving, workplace safety, and everyday discourse to note lapses in concentration.

The word is formed with the negating prefix on- attached to oplettend, which means attentive or watchful. The related noun onoplettendheid refers to inattentiveness, while related terms such as verstrooid or ongeconcentreerd convey similar but slightly different shades, such as being distracted or unfocused.

Onoplettend can be used descriptively about people or actions, for example: a student who is onoplettend during a lecture or a driver who becomes onoplettend at a busy intersection. Causes can include fatigue, boredom, cognitive overload, multitasking, or environmental distractions. In psychology and ergonomics, inattentiveness is studied as a component of attention and executive function, with implications for safety and performance.

See also: attention, concentration, inattentiveness, distraction.