Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Characterized by omissions; leaving out or neglecting something: Describes an action, behavior, or state that involves failing to include or do something that is required or expected. It often implies a failure to act or a neglect of duty.
   • Relating to an omission: Pertaining to something that has been omitted or left out.

Usage and Examples

• General Use:

  • The report was criticized for being omissive of key financial data. (The report was criticized because it failed to include important financial information.)
  • His omissive behavior in not reporting the safety hazard was deemed negligent. (His failure to act by not reporting the safety hazard was considered negligent.)

• Legal/Judicial Context:

  • The court distinguished between acts of commission and omissive failures to act. (The court made a distinction between actions that were actively taken and failures to act that involved leaving something out.)
  • The prosecutor argued that the defendant's omissive crime was a breach of his duty of care. (The prosecutor argued that the defendant's crime, based on a failure to act, violated his responsibility.)

Advanced Usage

• "Omissive of": A common prepositional phrase used to specify what has been left out.

  • The historical account was strangely omissive of the war's major battles. (The historical account curiously failed to mention the war's major battles.)

• In Philosophical/Ethical Discourse: Used to discuss moral responsibility for failures to act.

  • The debate focused on whether omissive harm carries the same moral weight as active harm. (The debate centered on whether harm caused by not acting is as morally significant as harm caused by acting.)

Variants and Related Words

• Omission (n): The act of omitting or the state of being omitted; something that is left out.
  • The document contained several serious omissions.
• Omit (v): To leave out or exclude; to fail to include or do something.
  • Please do not omit any details from your statement.

Synonyms

• Neglectful: Failing to care for or give proper attention to something.
• Exclusive: Not including something; excluding. (Note: This is a partial synonym, focusing more on the act of exclusion than on the failure.)
• Lacking: Deficient or missing something.

Antonyms

• Inclusive: Including everything, especially all the services or items normally expected.
• Comprehensive: Complete and including all or nearly all elements or aspects of something.
• Commission-based: Involving an act of doing or committing (as opposed to omitting).

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Sins of omission: A theological and ethical concept referring to wrongdoing that occurs from a failure to act, as opposed to an act of commission.
  • He examined his conscience not just for his actions, but for his sins of omission.
• Omissive offense: A legal term for a crime that can be committed by failing to perform a legally required act.
  • Failure to file a tax return is considered an omissive offense.

Adjective

1. characterized by omissions
   • omissive crimes