What does "unreflecting" mean?

Not giving reflection or thought to one's actions, words, conclusions, etc.; (of an action, statement, conclusion, etc.) done without reflection or thought. (of a person)

What is a synonym for "unreflecting"?

Common synonyms include: arbitrary, capricious, careless, heedless, ill-advised, ill-considered.

Unreflecting

adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Not giving reflection or thought to one's actions, words, conclusions, etc.; (of an action, statement, conclusion, etc.) done without reflection or thought. (of a person)
"Now what Discourse can be more suited to the Principles of these young Cubs of the Leviathan, than not to punish credulous and unreflecting People for being cheated and abused?"
2
That does not reflect light or sound.
"[…] a mirror may have picturesque beauty; but it is only from it's reflections. In an unreflecting state, it is insipid."

Synonyms

All synonyms

arbitrary capricious careless heedless ill-advised ill-considered

Example

More examples

"Habit rules the unreflecting herd."

Etymology

From un- + reflecting.

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