criminal negligence
4
7.5
- noun
- /ˈkrɪmɪnəl ˈnɛɡlɪdʒəns/
- Formal
:
negligencia criminal
- The court found her guilty of criminal negligence after she failed to provide proper safety measures for her workers.
- criminal negligence charge
- case of criminal negligence
It is a degree of recklessness, criminal negligence that rises to a crime.
- It is a degree of recklessness, criminal negligence that rises to a crime.
Examples
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The report concludes that this withholding of information constituted either criminal negligence at the very least or that it was intentionally withheld out of contempt for the unembedded journalists who had refused to vacate Baghdad.
Academic text (2005) -
If so, I'd say that there might be a case for criminal negligence, and certainly a case for a civil action.
Blog text (33) -
Bringing us over this road was criminal negligence.
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Much of it should be considered criminal negligence.
Blog text (26) -
They might have enough to charge him with criminal negligence.
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Well, Hugh specializes in criminal negligence.
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We were bringing a criminal negligence suit against the Transit Authority on behalf of seventeen.
Fiction book (1998) -
My account merely indicated a lack of proper planning, while Albert's was a case for criminal negligence.
Fiction book (1991) -
Criminal negligence involves more than ordinary carelessness, inattention, or mistakes in judgment.
Blog text (4) -
The recent widespread occurrence of prison riots... is almost always the direct result... of the shortsighted neglect of our penal institutions... amounting to almost criminal negligence.
Synonyms
18
5.2
Acting without caring about danger or what might happen
1
8.8
A careless failure to take normal care that causes or could cause harm
Antonyms
How Negligent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built: 'criminal' modifies 'negligence', so a learner who knows both words will infer it means negligence that is legally treated as a crime or linked to criminal liability. While exact legal thresholds (recklessness vs. ordinary negligence) are technical, the core meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and is cross-linguistically transparent.
Etymology
The term criminal negligence comes from joining criminal, meaning someone who breaks the law, and negligence, meaning not taking care. Think of a person who ignores clear danger and someone is hurt; their careless act is treated as a crime, so the phrase means 'careless behavior serious enough to be a crime'.