Word.ws English Dictionary

benign neglect

benign neglect noun: a policy or strategy of deliberately taking no action concerning an issue, challenging situation, or other problem in the belief that this course will ultimately result in the best outcome possible.

Noun

benign neglect (uncountable)

  1. (set phrase, often politics or public policy) A policy or strategy of deliberately taking no action concerning an issue, challenging situation, or other problem in the belief that this course will ultimately result in the best outcome possible.
    • So tranquil, so quiescent seems Black America in the Nixon Era that a presidential partisan could well argue that "benign neglect" has worked.1971 February 22, Karsten Prager, “The Cooling Of America: Right On Toward a New Black Pluralism”, in TIME, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2025, retrieved 16 Jul 2014
    • [T]he Japanese have been intervening to hold down the value of the yen, while Washington has been adopting a policy of benign neglect towards the dollar.2003 May 28, Larry Elliott, Charlotte Denny, “Strong euro causes weak smiles among Europe's policy gurus”, in The Guardian, UK, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016, retrieved 16 Jul 2014

Examples of benign neglect in a sentence

  • I deliberately choose houseplants that thrive on benign neglect.2008 August 6, Ann Lovejoy, “Gardening: Camp can be a ball for houseplants”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, archived from the original on...
  • As a parent, I think that it’s time to declare a period of benign neglect when it comes to food.2014 April 19, Mark Oppenheimer, “Let Them Drink Chocolate”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022, retrieved 16...

Origin of benign neglect

Reportedly coined in 1969 by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, adviser to US President Richard Nixon, who recommended this policy with respect to the issue of US racial strife.

Questions about benign neglect

What does benign neglect mean?
Benign neglect means a policy or strategy of deliberately taking no action concerning an issue, challenging situation, or other problem in the belief that this course will ultimately result in the best outcome possible.
How do you use benign neglect in a sentence?
I deliberately choose houseplants that thrive on benign neglect.
What part of speech is benign neglect?
Benign neglect is a noun.

Words near benign neglect in the dictionary

  1. benightings
  2. benightment
  3. benightments
  4. benights
  5. benign
  6. benign neglect
  7. benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
  8. benign prostate enlargement
  9. benign prostate enlargements
  10. benign prostatic hyperplasia
  11. benign prostatic hyperplasias

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: benign neglect (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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