inattention

[ in-uh-ten-shuh n ]

/ ˌɪn əˈtɛn ʃən /

lack of attention; negligence.

an act of neglect.

Origin of inattention

First recorded in 1700–10; in-³ + attention

Unmarried women were put off by inattention to their issues, particularly in the debates, says Greenberg, and that hurt Obama.

Obama’s Women Supporters and the ‘Marriage Gap’ Wild Card |Eleanor Clift |November 4, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Numbers also help explain all that inattention on Tuesday night.

Last Look at Munch’s ‘The Scream’ as Painting Is Auctioned for $119M |Blake Gopnik |May 3, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
They were accidental owners who turned their inattention into a virtue.

How Old Money Beat Murdoch |Sarah Ellison |May 27, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
The trouble is that an inattention to the details of money is not exactly what we want in a Treasury secretary at the moment.

Obama's Strange Obsession |Tina Brown |February 9, 2009 |DAILY BEAST

Still, as the inflation of the claims has been urged as an excuse for inattention to them, a word upon that point is desirable.

The War With Mexico, Volume I (of 2) |Justin H. Smith
But at this moment she perceived that Gervais, profiting by her inattention, was busy seeking his "paradise lost."

Fruitfulness |Emile Zola
I fell into an inattention to religion, or an indifference about it, in my ninth year.

Life of Johnson |James Boswell
First of all, either from inattention, or from want of comprehension, these denunciations made but a faint impression upon me.

Rattlin the Reefer |Edward Howard
I am perhaps too sensitive to any kind of inattention; but it's not wholly unnatural in my position, Hector.

Beaumaroy Home from the Wars |Anthony Hope