negligible vs neglectable

Question

Hi people,I know that negligible is the original adjective of neglect but recently I heard someone say neglectable. As I write this word, I see a red wiggly line below the word suggesting that the word doesn't exist. However, the online Merriam-webster dictionary lists it. So probably it's an emerging word. I would like to know how often you guys have heard this word being used and when you hear someone say this word, does it sound, sort of, uneducated to you?Thanks!

Clive · Accepted Answer

I've never heard this word.

It sounds contradictory to me.
neglect suggests you should pay attention, eg He neglected his homework.
neglectable adds the thought that you don't need to pay attention, as it can be neglected. eg His homework was neglectable.

The word doesn't sound to me like anything related to 'negligible'.

Clive

Gene N · Answer

I guess then people invented this word to mean what you described just now. So when one says "His homework was neglectable", it means that it can be neglected.

But when one says "His homework was negligible", to me it sounds like it is very easy or less in quantity. However, it doesn't suggest to me that it may be neglected. Am I right on this one?

Just out of curiosity, can you think of any adjective one can use instead of what I assume neglectable to mean?

CalifJim · Answer

I, too, have to say that I've never heard the word 'neglectable'.

I suppose it means 'which can be neglected'.

'negligible', on the other hand, though it means the same thing, is almost always restricted to amounts, so it has the flavor of 'not enough to worry about'.

The (amount of) residue that remained after the machine part was polished was negligible.

CJ

Clive · Answer

You misunderstand me. When I hear 'neglectable', what I hear is
You don't have to do something that you have to do.
It's a contradiction.

when one says "His homework was negligible", to me it sounds like it is very easy or less in quantity. However, it doesn't suggest to me that it may be neglected. Am I right on this one? Yes

Just out of curiosity, can you think of any adjective one can use instead of what I assume neglectable to mean?
unimportant?

Clive

Gene N · Answer

CliveYou misunderstand me. When I hear 'neglectable', what I hear isYou don't have to do something that you have to do.It's a contradiction.

I am not sure what the contradiction is. 'He neglected his homework' means he did not pay attention to his homework. 'He considered his homework neglectable' would then mean 'He considered his homework not worth paying attention to'. 'Neglect' means 'not paying attention' rather than 'paying attention' as you mentioned in your previous comment.

Clive · Answer

But if you neglect something, it implies that you shouldn't neglect it.

Gene N · Answer

Hmm...I see what you mean now.

Perhaps that's why there is no such word. One should use 'ignorable' instead of it.

Anonymous · Answer

Gene NI know that negligible is the original adjective of neglect but recently I heard someone say neglectable.

You are correct. If you would consult the online Merriam - Webster dictionary again you would se that they state negligible as the archaic form of neglectable. As i consult my Oxford - Advanced learner's dictionary it doesn't have neglectable, however it does have negligible (as do the Merriam - Webster dictionary) and define negligible as "of very little importance and size and not worth considering" (so small or unimportant or of so little consequence as to warrant little or no attention).
Therefore they're interchangeable, even though neglectable seems to be more of a colloquial word.

Anonymous · Answer

Except that the words are directly related and one is derived from the meaning of the other.

Not Clive

negligible vs neglectable

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