vernachlässigt

Vernachlässigt is the past participle of the German verb vernachlässigen and, when used as an adjective, describes something that has been neglected or given insufficient attention. It can function attributively as in eine vernachlässigte Gegend or predicatively in Der Garten ist vernachlässigt.

As a participle, vernachlässigt forms compound tenses with auxiliary verbs and serves as a descriptive adjective in various contexts. It can refer to people, places, or duties that have received too little care or attention, for example vernachlässigte Kinder (neglected children).

Vernachlässigung is the corresponding noun for neglect or carelessness. It is used in contexts such as die Vernachlässigung von Pflichten or die Vernachlässigung von Kindern, and is common in social, legal, and policy discourse.

Etymology: the verb vernachlässigen is formed with the prefix ver- attached to nachlässigen (negligent). The term is rooted in early modern German and is related to the adjective nachlässig (negligent). The prefix ver- often marks a negative or detrimental action, reinforcing the sense of neglect in various usages.