careless
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
careless
- /ˈkɛəlɪs/ UK
- /ˈkɛələs/ UK
- /kɛɹ.ləs/ US
- /kɛɚ.ləs/ US
- /keː.ləs/ Australia
- /kiə.ləs/
- /keə.ləs/ New Zealand
- /keɹ.ləs/ Scotland
- /kɜː(ɹ).ləs/
Rhymes with -ɛə(ɹ)ləs
Where it comes from
From Middle English careles, from Old English carlēas (“careless, reckless, void of care, free from care, free”), equivalent to care + -less. Cognate with Icelandic kærulaus (“careless, negligent”).
adjective more careless · most careless
- Not concerned or worried (about). "He was here," observed Drina composedly, "and father was angry with him." "What?" exclaimed Eileen. "When?" "This morning, before father went downtown." Both Selwyn and Lansing cut in coolly, dismissing the matter with a careless word or two; and coffee was served—cambric tea in Drina's case.
- Not giving sufficient attention or thought, especially concerning the avoidance of harm or mistakes. Jessica was so careless that she put her shorts on backwards.
-
Free from care; unworried, without anxiety.
Jessica was careless about putting her shorts on properly.
Similar: laid-back, unconcerned, airy, at ease, at peace, carefree, careless, casual, chill, cool, devil-may-care, easy-breezy
Similar: careless, cursory, derelict, heedless, irregardless, irrespective, lash, lax, incautious, neglectful, negligent, reckless, regardless, remiss, slack, slapdash, sloppy, slovenly, slipshod, unfaithful · Opposite: meticulous
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: thoughtless, heedless, incautious, negligent, inconsiderate, regardless, offhand, reckless, unheeding, artless, haphazard, casual, slipshod, cursory, slapdash, passing
adjective
Similar: careless, cursory, derelict, heedless, irregardless, irrespective, lash, lax, incautious, neglectful, negligent, reckless, regardless, remiss, slack, slapdash, sloppy, slovenly, slipshod, unfaithful · Opposite: meticulous
Translations
Every language
adj not giving sufficient attention or thought
| Español | descuidado, irresponsable, negligente, dejado, poco / no cuidadoso, desprolijo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 不注意 fuchūi, 軽率 keisotsu, 迂闊 ukatsu |
| 中文 | 輕率 /轻率 qīngshuài, 大意 dàyì |
| हिन्दी | असावधान asāvdhān |
| Português | descuidado, desatencioso, negligente |
| Français | négligent, étourdi, distrait |
| Deutsch | unvorsichtig, unbedacht, unachtsam, leichtsinnig, fahrlässig, nachlässig |
| Italiano | inaccurato, negligente, negletto, superficiale, spensierato |
| Ελληνικά | απρόσεκτος aprósektos, απερίσκεπτος aperískeptos, αμελής amelís |
| Română | nepăsător, neglijent |
| Русский | невнима́тельный nevnimátelʹnyj, небре́жный nebréžnyj, неради́вый neradívyj |
| Tiếng Việt | bất cẩn |
| العربية | غَيْر مُبَالِي ḡayr mubālī |
| עברית | רשלן rashlan |
Talk about this word "careless." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/careless. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. careless. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/careless "careless." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/careless.Cite this
@misc{careless_2026,
title = {careless},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/careless},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
