What is the meaning of Negligence?

Negligence is the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided by those ordinary considerations which ordinarily regulate human affairs, would do, or the doing of something which a reasonable and prudent man would not do. Negligence is the failure to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances; it is the doing of some act which a person of ordinary prudence would not have done under similar circumstances or failure to do what a person of ordinary prudence would have done under similar circumstances. The term refers only to that legal delinquency which results whenever a man fails to exhibit the care which he ought to exhibit, whether it be slight, ordinary, or great. It is characterized chiefly by inadvertence, thoughtlessness, inattention, and the like, while "wantonness" or "recklessness" is characterized by willfulness. The law of negligence is founded on reasonable conduct or reasonable care under all circumstances of particular care. Doctrine of negligence rests on duty of every person to exercise due care in his conduct toward others from which injury may result.

5
 
|15 years ago|755 views|share |citing 
APABarry Goldsmith. (2010). negligence. Retrieved September 26, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/negligence/definitions/1158866
ChicagoBarry Goldsmith. 2010. "negligence" http://smartdefine.org/negligence/definitions/1158866 (accessed September 26, 2026).
HarvardBarry Goldsmith 2010, negligence, Smart Define, viewed 26 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/negligence/definitions/1158866>.
MLABarry Goldsmith. "negligence" 21 October 2010. Web. 26 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/negligence/definitions/1158866>
{ class="autoclick" }next definition (/)