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on the shelf
Definition
› not noticed or not used: It's important to apply research in a practical way and not leave it on the shelf.Neglecting and ignoringNot paying attentionTreating as unimportant › mainly UK informal describes someone, usually a woman, who is not married and is considered too old for anyone to want to marry them: In those days, if you hadn't married by the time you were 30, you were definitely on the shelf.Marital status
(Definition of on the shelf from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
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SMART Thesaurus: Neglecting and ignoring
Synonyms and related words:
- block sth out phrasal verb (STOP FROM THINKING)
- brush sth off phrasal verb
- bury/have your head in the sand idiom
- bypass verb
- close your ears idiom
- fiddle while Rome burns idiom
- ignore verb
- lay sth aside phrasal verb (STOP)
- leave sth aside phrasal verb
- let sleeping dogs lie idiom
- negligent adjective
- not go there idiom
- ostrich noun (PERSON)
- pass sb/sth over phrasal verb
- push sb/sth aside phrasal verb
- there's none so deaf as those who will not hear idiom
- trample verb (TREAT WITHOUT RESPECT)
- tune (sb/sth) out phrasal verb
- turn a blind eye idiom
- turn a deaf ear idiom
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