Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
negligent, negligible (adjs.)
Negligent means “neglectful, careless,” as in She was a negligent worker, careless of details, and “casually relaxed,” as in His conversational style was courteous but negligent. When it combines with prepositions, negligent does so with about, in, or of: He was negligent about [of, in] his dress. Negligible means “unimportant, so trivial as to be safely disregarded,” as in The risks were negligible.
