Word Study
careless
CIDE DICTIONARY
careless, a. [AS. cearleás.].
- Free from care or anxiety. hence, cheerful; light-hearted. Spenser. [1913 Webster]"Sleep she as sound as careless infancy." [1913 Webster]
- Having no care; not taking ordinary or proper care; negligent; unconcerned; heedless; inattentive; unmindful; regardless. [1913 Webster]"My brother was too careless of his charge." [1913 Webster]"He grew careless of himself." [1913 Webster]
- Without thought or purpose; without due care; without attention to rule or system; unstudied; inconsiderate; spontaneous; rash; as, a careless throw; a careless expression. [1913 Webster]"He framed the careless rhyme." [1913 Webster]
- Not receiving care; uncared for. [1913 Webster]"Their many wounds and careless harms."
Syn. -- Negligent; heedless; thoughtless; unthinking; inattentive; incautious; remiss; supine; forgetful; regardless; inconsiderate; listless.
OXFORD DICTIONARY
careless, adj.
1 not taking care or paying attention.
2 unthinking, insensitive.
3 done without care; inaccurate.
4 light-hearted.
5 (foll. by of) not concerned about; taking no heed of.
6 effortless.
1 not taking care or paying attention.
2 unthinking, insensitive.
3 done without care; inaccurate.
4 light-hearted.
5 (foll. by of) not concerned about; taking no heed of.
6 effortless.
Derivative
carelessly adv. carelessness n.
Etymology
OE carleas (as CARE, -LESS)
THESAURUS
careless
absent-minded, accident-prone, airy, all thumbs, aloof, apathetic, arbitrary, artless, ataractic, awkward, barbarous, beat-up, bedraggled, behindhand, blase, blowzy, blunderheaded, blundering, boorish, bored, breakneck, bumbling, bungling, butterfingered, capricious, carefree, casual, chintzy, clownish, clumsy, clumsy-fisted, cumbersome, cursory, degage, delinquent, derelict, desperate, detached, devil-may-care, dilapidated, disheveled, disinterested, dispassionate, disregardant, disregardful, distant, distracted, distrait, drabbletailed, draggled, draggletailed, easy, easygoing, erroneous, faulty, feckless, fingers all thumbs, flippant, forgetful, free and easy, frowzy, frumpish, frumpy, fumbling, furious, gauche, gawkish, gawky, graceless, grubby, ham-fisted, ham-handed, harum-scarum, hasty, headlong, heavy-handed, heedless, hotheaded, hulking, hulky, hurried, impassive, impetuous, impotent, imprecise, improper, imprudent, in rags, inaccurate, inadequate, inadvertent, inattentive, incapable, incautious, inconsiderate, incorrect, incurious, indifferent, inelegant, inexact, inexcitable, infelicitous, informal, ingenuous, inobservant, insouciant, irresponsible, lackadaisical, lax, lazy, left-hand, left-handed, lenient, listless, loose, loutish, lubberly, lumbering, lumpen, lumpish, mad, maladroit, messy, mindless, mussy, neglectful, negligent, nonchalant, oafish, oblivious, offhand, overeager, overenthusiastic, overindulgent, overpermissive, overzealous, perfunctory, permissive, phlegmatic, pococurante, poky, ponderous, precipitant, precipitate, precipitous, ragged, raggedy, rash, raunchy, reasonless, reckless, regardless, relaxed, remiss, respectless, ruinous, scraggly, seedy, shabby, shoddy, slack, slap-bang, slapdash, slatternly, slipshod, sloppy, slovenly, sluttish, soft, solecistic, sordid, squalid, stiff, stolid, tacky, tactless, tattered, thoughtless, turned-off, unanxious, uncalculating, uncaring, unconcerned, uncouth, undiplomatic, undiscriminating, unfastidious, unfit, ungainly, ungraceful, ungrammatic, unguarded, unhandy, unheedful, unheeding, uninquiring, uninterested, uninvolved, unkempt, unmarking, unmindful, unneat, unnoticing, unnoting, unobservant, unobserving, unprepared, unqualified, unready, unreasoning, unreflecting, unreflective, unremarking, unrestrained, unsightly, unsolicitous, unstudied, untactful, unthinking, unthorough, unthoughtful, untidy, untroubled, unwary, unwieldy, unworried, wanton, weak, wild, withdrawn, wrecking, wrongROGET THESAURUS
careless
Feebleness
N feebleness, feeble, bald, tame, meager, jejune, vapid, bland, trashy, lukewarm, cold, frigid, poor, dull, dry, languid, colorless, enervated, proposing, prosy, prosaic, unvaried, monotonous, weak, washy, wishy- washy, sketchy, slight, careless, slovenly, loose, lax (negligent), slipshod, slipslop, inexact, puerile, childish, flatulent, rambling.Insensibility
N insensibility, insensibleness, moral insensibility, inertness, inertia, vis inertiae, impassibility, impassibleness, inappetency, apathy, phlegm, dullness, hebetude, supineness, lukewarmness, cold fit, cold blood, cold heart, coldness, coolness, frigidity, sang froid, stoicism, imperturbation, nonchalance, unconcern, dry eyes, insouciance, recklessness, callousness, heart of stone, stock and stone, marble, deadness, torpor, torpidity, obstupefaction, lethargy, coma, trance, vegetative state, sleep, suspended animation, stupor, stupefaction, paralysis, palsy, numbness, neutrality, quietism, vegetation, insensible, unconscious, impassive, impassible, blind to, deaf to, dead to, unsusceptible, insusceptible, unimpressionable, unimpressible, passionless, spiritless, heartless, soulless, unfeeling, unmoral, apathetic, leuco-, phlegmatic, dull, frigid, cold blooded, cold hearted, cold as charity, flat, maudlin, obtuse, inert, supine, sluggish, torpid, torpedinous, torporific, sleepy, languid, half-hearted, tame, numbed, comatose, anaesthetic, stupefied, chloroformed, drugged, stoned, palsy-stricken, indifferent, lukewarm, careless, mindless, regardless, inattentive, neglectful, disregarding, unconcerned, nonchalant, pococurante, insouciant, sans souci, unambitious, unaffected, unruffled, unimpressed, uninspired, unexcited, unmoved, unstirred, untouched, unshocked, unstruck, unblushing, unanimated, vegetative, callous, thick-skinned, hard-nosed, pachydermatous, impervious, hardened, inured, casehardened, steeled against, proof against, imperturbable, unfelt, insensibly, aequo animo, without being moved, without being touched, without being impressed, in cold blood, with dry eyes, with withers unwrung, never mind, macht nichts, it is of no consequence, it cannot be helped, nothing coming amiss, it is all the same to, it is all one to.Rashness
N rashness, temerity, want of caution, imprudence, indiscretion, overconfidence, presumption, audacity, precipitancy, precipitation, impetuosity, levity, foolhardihood, foolhardiness, heedlessness, thoughtlessness, carelessness, desperation, Quixotism, knight-errantry, fire eating, gaming, gambling, blind bargain, leap in the dark, leap of faith, fool's paradise, too many eggs in one basket, desperado, rashling, madcap, daredevil, Hotspur, fire eater, bully, bravo, Hector, scapegrace, enfant perdu, Don Quixote, knight-errant, Icarus, adventurer, gambler, gamester, dynamitard, boomer, rash, incautious, indiscreet, imprudent, improvident, temerarious, uncalculating, heedless, careless, without ballast, heels over head, head over heels, giddy, wanton, reckless, wild, madcap, desperate, devil-may-care, hot-blooded, hotheaded, hotbrained, headlong, headstrong, breakneck, foolhardy, harebrained, precipitate, impulsive, overconfident, overweening, venturesome, venturous, adventurous, Quixotic, fire eating, cavalier, janty, jaunty, free and easy, off one's guard, post haste, a corps perdu, hand over head, tete baissee, headforemost, happen what may, come what may, neck or nothing, the devil being in one, non semper temeritas est felix, paucis temeritas est bono multis malo.Indifference
N indifference, neutrality, coldness, anaphrodisia, unconcern, insouciance, nonchalance, want of interest, want of earnestness, anorexy, anorexia, inappetency, apathy, supineness, disdain, recklessness, inattention, anaphrodisiac, antaphrodisiac, lust-quencher, passion-queller, indifferent, cold, frigid, lukewarm, cool, cool as a cucumber, unconcerned, insouciant, phlegmatic, pococurante, easygoing, devil-may- care, careless, listless, lackadaisical, half-hearted, unambitious, unaspiring, undesirous, unsolicitous, unattracted, aloof, unapproachable, remote, uncaring, unattractive, unalluring, undesired, undesirable, uncared for, unwished, unvalued, all one to, insipid, vain, for aught one cares, Int, never mind, Who cares? whatever you like, whatever, I couldn't care less, I could care less, anything will do, es macht nichts.Inattention
N inattention, inconsideration, inconsiderateness, oversight, inadvertence, inadvertency, nonobservance, disregard, supineness, etourderie, want of thought, heedlessness, insouciance, abstraction, absence of mind, absorption of mind, preoccupation, distraction, reverie, brown study, deep musing, fit of abstraction, inattentive, unobservant, unmindful, heedless, unthinking, unheeding, undiscerning, inadvertent, mindless, regardless, respectless, listless, blind, deaf, bird-witted, hand over head, cursory, percursory, giddy-brained, scatter-brained, hare-brained, unreflective, unreflecting, ecervele, offhand, dizzy, muzzy, brainsick, giddy, giddy as a goose, wild, harum-scarum, rantipole, highflying, heedless, careless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, absent, abstracted, distrait, absentminded, lost, lost in thought, wrapped in thought, rapt, in the clouds, bemused, dreaming on other things, musing on other things, preoccupied, engrossed, daydreaming, in a reverie, off one's guard, napping, dreamy, caught napping, disconcerted, distracted, put out, inattentively, inadvertently, absent-mindedly, per incuriam, sub silentio, Int, stand at ease, stand easy!, the attention wanders, one's wits gone a woolgathering, one's wits gone a bird's nesting, it never entered into one's head, the mind running on other things, one's thoughts being elsewhere, had it been a bear it would have bitten you.Neglect
N neglect, carelessness, trifling, negligence, omission, oversight, laches, default, supineness, inattention, nonchalance, imprudence, recklessness, slovenliness improvidence, noncompletion, inexactness, paralipsis, paralepsis, paraleipsis (in rhetoric), trifler, waiter on Providence, Micawber, neglecting, unmindful, negligent, neglectful, heedless, careless, thoughtless, perfunctory, remiss, feebleness, inconsiderate, uncircumspect, incircumspect, off one's guard, unwary, unwatchful, unguarded, offhand, supine, inattentive, insouciant, imprudent, reckless, slovenly inexact, improvident, neglected, unheeded, uncared-for, unperceived, unseen, unobserved, unnoticed, unnoted, unmarked, unattended to, unthought of, unregarded, unremarked, unmissed, shunted, shelved, unexamined, unstudied, unsearched, unscanned, unweighed, unsifted, unexplored, abandoned, buried in a napkin, hid under a bushel, negligently, hand over head, anyhow, in an unguarded moment, per incuriam, Int, never mind, no matter, let it pass, out of sight, out of mind.For further exploring for "careless" in Webster Dictionary Online