not paying attention
Zoned out completely
Not paying attention describes a state of mental disengagement—failing to focus on what's happening or being said.
It ranges from mild distraction to complete obliviousness: Sorry, I wasn't paying attention—what did you say?
The phrase often carries mild reproach, suggesting the inattention is voluntary or careless: If you'd been paying attention, you wouldn't have missed the turn.
- distractedUnable to concentrate
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- head in the cloudsAbsorbed in fantasy
- zoning outLosing conscious attention temporarily
- spaced outInattentive, mentally elsewhere
absent-minded · wandering · unfocused · glazed · drifting · oblivious · tuned out · out to lunch · scatterbrained · preoccupied · lost in thought · away with the fairies · blank stare · staring into space · in one ear · negligent · asleep at the wheel · careless
- inattentiondistracted, spacing, absent-minded, distraction, obliviousness
- negligence expressionsdrop the ball, asleep at the wheel, let slide, slack off, caught napping
not paying attentionpaying attention
Directing focus toward something
focused · attentive · concentrating · riveted · absorbed
not paying attentionpresent
Gift or current moment
aware · mindful · observant · in the moment · heedful
not paying attentioncareful
Exercising caution and attention
diligent · meticulous · thorough · conscientious · painstaking
paying, attention, payers, payment, payments, payable, repayment, attentive, attentively