Careless

//ˈkɛəlɪs// adj

adj ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    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."

  2. 2
    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."

  3. 3
    Free from care; unworried, without anxiety. archaic

    "Jessica was careless about putting her shorts on properly."

Adjective
  1. 1
    effortless and unstudied wordnet
  2. 2
    marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful wordnet
  3. 3
    (usually followed by ‘of’) without due thought or consideration wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
artlesscarefreeincautiousnegligentperfunctoryreckless

Example

More examples

"You were careless in your action."

Etymology

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”).

Related phrases

beastly careless

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.