ignore

Ignore is a verb meaning to refuse to take notice of or acknowledge something or someone. It implies deliberate attention withdrawal, or treating a stimulus, statement, or person as irrelevant. The corresponding noun form is often used in phrases like “willful ignore” or “intentional ignoring.” In everyday use, to ignore someone can range from not responding to a remark to avoiding a presence or topic altogether. The concept can be a passive effect or an active choice embedded in social boundaries.

Etymology: ignore comes from Latin ignorare, meaning “to not know,” via Old French ignorer and Middle English into modern English. The root reflects a sense of absence of knowledge or awareness rather than a simple disagreement.

Usage and contexts: socially, ignoring can be a boundary-setting tactic, a coping mechanism, or a form of ostracism. It may be subtle (eye contact avoidance) or explicit (dedicated nonresponse). In evaluation and rhetoric, ignoring counterarguments is sometimes viewed as a biased or evasive practice. In data, research, and technology, to ignore data or input means to discard or bypass it during processing. Common computing usages include ignoring function results, ignoring signals by setting a handler to ignore (for example, ignoring certain signals in a program with a dedicated flag), or maintaining an ignore list to filter unwanted items.

Impact and ethics: purposeful ignoring can affect relationships and trust, while inadvertent ignoring can reflect neglect or miscommunication. In information systems, proper handling of ignored inputs is important for robustness and user experience.

See also: disregard, neglect, ostracism, skip, filter.