Ĭn'at-tĕn'/tion, n.

n. [Prefix in, not, and attention; Fr. inattention, It. inattenzione.] The want of attention, or of fixing the mind steadily on an object; heedlessness; neglect.

Novel lays attract our ravished ears; But old, the mind with inattention hears. Pope.

Synonyms—Inadvertence; heedlessness; thoughtlessness; neglect.—INATTENTION, INADVERTENCE. We miss seeing a thing through inadvertence when we do not look at it; through inattention when we give no heed to it, though directly before us. The latter is therefore the worse. Inadvertence may be an involuntary accident; inattention is culpable neglect. A versatile mind is often inadvertent; a careless or stupid one is inattentive.

What is not ill executed should be received with approbation, with good words and good wishes; and small faults and inadvertencies should be candidly excused. Jortin.

What prodigies can power divine perform More grand than it produces year by year, And all in sight of inattentive man? Cowper.