Standard Lemma guide

omission

noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ə(ʊ)ˈmɪʃ.ən/
  • Canada, General-American: /oʊˈmɪʃ.ən/
  • Canada: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: OW0 M IH1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of omitting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • E&O insurance (for errors and omissions) covers both errors of commission and errors of omission.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An instance of those acts, or the thing left out thereby; something deleted or left out.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • The suspicious omissions in the new edition of the book attracted claims of censorship.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Something not done or neglected.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The lack of a sponge count was an omission by the surgical team.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The shortening of a word or phrase, using an apostrophe ( ' ) to replace the missing letters, often used to approximate the sound of speech or a specific dialect.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Narrower terms: contraction

6

noun

Meaning 6

a mistake resulting from neglect

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: skip

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mistake, error, fault

Narrower terms: failure

7

noun

Meaning 7

neglecting to do something; leaving out or passing over something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: disregard, neglect

Narrower terms: oversight, inadvertence, pretermission, exception, exclusion, elision

8

noun

Meaning 8

any process whereby sounds or words are left out of spoken words or phrases

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: deletion

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: linguistic process

Narrower terms: aphaeresis, apheresis, aphesis, elision, ellipsis, eclipsis

9

noun

Meaning 9

something that has been omitted

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • she searched the table for omissions

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: neglect, disuse

History

Etymology

From Middle English omissioun, from Old French omission, from Late Latin omissio, omissionem, from Latin omitto.

Across languages

Translations

81 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: إِغْفَال (ʔiḡfāl) — the act of omitting
  • Bulgarian: изпускане (izpuskane) — the act of omitting
  • Bulgarian: пропускане (propuskane) — the act of omitting
  • Catalan: omissió — the act of omitting
  • Chinese Mandarin: 省略 (shěnglüè) — the act of omitting
  • Esperanto: preterlaso — the act of omitting
  • Finnish: sivuuttaminen — the act of omitting
  • Finnish: välttäminen — the act of omitting
  • Finnish: väistäminen — the act of omitting
  • Finnish: pois jättäminen — the act of omitting
  • French: omission — the act of omitting
  • German: Unterlassung — the act of omitting
  • German: Unterlassen — the act of omitting
  • Greek: παράλειψη (paráleipsi) — the act of omitting
  • Ancient Greek: παράλειψις (paráleipsis) — the act of omitting
  • Hungarian: kihagyás — the act of omitting
  • Hungarian: elhagyás — the act of omitting
  • Italian: omissione — the act of omitting
  • Japanese: 省略 (shōryaku) — the act of omitting
  • Korean: 생략 (saengnyak) — the act of omitting
  • Latin: praetermissiō — the act of omitting
  • Latin: omissiō — the act of omitting
  • Māori: aweretanga — the act of omitting
  • Portuguese: omissão — the act of omitting
  • Romansh: omission — the act of omitting
  • Russian: упуще́ние (upuščénije) — the act of omitting
  • Spanish: omisión — the act of omitting
  • Swedish: utelämnande — the act of omitting
  • Turkish: unutmak — the act of omitting
  • Turkish: atlamak — the act of omitting
  • Bulgarian: опущение (opuštenie) — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Bulgarian: небрежност (nebrežnost) — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不作為 /不作为 (bùzuòwéi) — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Finnish: laiminlyönti — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • German: Unterlassen — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • German: Unterlassung — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Greek: παράλειψη (paráleipsi) — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Hungarian: mulasztás — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Hungarian: elmulasztás — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Irish: faillí — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Irish: faill — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Italian: omissione — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Japanese: 怠慢 (taiman) — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Kazakh: әрекетсіздік (äreketsızdık) — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Portuguese: negligência — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Romansh: omission — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Russian: опло́шность (oplóšnostʹ) — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Spanish: omisión — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Turkish: ihmal etmek — the act of neglecting to perform an action one has an obligation to do
  • Bulgarian: пропуск (propusk) — something deleted or left out
  • Catalan: omissió — something deleted or left out
  • Finnish: poisto — something deleted or left out
  • Finnish: puute — something deleted or left out
  • French: omission — something deleted or left out
  • French: oubli — something deleted or left out
  • German: Auslassung — something deleted or left out
  • Greek: παράλειψη (paráleipsi) — something deleted or left out
  • Hungarian: kihagyás — something deleted or left out
  • Italian: omissione — something deleted or left out
  • Māori: aweretanga — something deleted or left out
  • Māori: rerenga — something deleted or left out
  • Māori: kauwhiti — something deleted or left out
  • Portuguese: omissão — something deleted or left out
  • Romansh: omission — something deleted or left out
  • Russian: про́пуск (própusk) — something deleted or left out
  • Spanish: omisión — something deleted or left out
  • Finnish: laiminlyönti — something not done or neglected
  • German: Unterlassung — something not done or neglected
  • Hungarian: mulasztás — something not done or neglected
  • Italian: omissione — something not done or neglected
  • Japanese: 不作為 (fusakui) — something not done or neglected
  • Macedonian: пропуст (propust) — something not done or neglected
  • Māori: aweretanga — something not done or neglected
  • Māori: kauwhiti — something not done or neglected
  • Portuguese: omissão — something not done or neglected
  • Romansh: omission — something not done or neglected
  • Russian: упуще́ние (upuščénije) — something not done or neglected
  • Spanish: omisión — something not done or neglected
  • Bulgarian: изпускане (izpuskane) — grammar: the shortening of a word or phrase
  • German: Auslassung — grammar: the shortening of a word or phrase
  • Russian: про́пуск (própusk) — grammar: the shortening of a word or phrase