inattentive
adjective
Examples of inattentive in a Sentence
Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
During summer breaks, Walsh worked as a Los Angeles cab driver, an experience that did little to improve his aggressive and inattentive driving style.
—Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 2 Apr. 2024
The Institute also checked how these systems alerted an inattentive driver to pay attention.
—Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024
Third, the prosecution in Jennifer’s trial portrayed her as an inattentive mother, introducing evidence of her extramarital affair and her deep interest in her horses.
—Eric Levenson, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024
Michael Phillis’ Timmy is breezily inattentive but also jealous and easily agitated, while Gabriel Brown’s Sam is incredulous and defensive.
—Sam Hurwitt, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024
The driver was cited for inattentive driving and speeding.
—Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2024
Careless is a lesser charge than reckless and typically applies to an operator who has been inattentive at the wheel.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2024
Some even used a camera aimed at the driver to discern if drivers were becoming inattentive, including drooping their head or simply averting their view from the straight-ahead.
—Jim Resnick, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inattentive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
1692, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near inattentive
Cite this Entry
“Inattentive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inattentive. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
inattentive
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on inattentive
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for inattentive
Nglish: Translation of inattentive for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of inattentive for Arabic Speakers
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