careless
English
editEtymology
editFrom 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”).
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɛəlɪs/, /ˈkɛələs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɛɹləs/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)ləs
Adjective
editcareless (comparative more careless, superlative most careless)
- Not concerned or worried (about). [from 11thc.]
- 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IV, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
- "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. [from 16thc.]
- Jessica was so careless that she put her shorts on backwards.
- 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 132:
- These ballads, none of which are later than the fifteenth century, are written in a strain of the most artless simplicity, not the slightest attempt at ornament is to be discerned in them; the same ideas and expressions continually recur, and the rimes are the most careless imaginable, often a mere assonnance in vowels or consonants, sometimes not possessing even that slight similarity of sound.
- (archaic) Free from care; unworried, without anxiety. [from 11thc.]
- 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 27, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
- Good-humored, easy, and careless, he presided over his whale-boat as if the most deadly encounter were but a dinner, and his crew all invited guests.
Synonyms
edit- See also Thesaurus:careless
Derived terms
editTranslations
editnot concerned or worried — see carefree
not giving sufficient attention or thought
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Anagrams
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- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵeh₂r-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
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- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms suffixed with -less
- English 2-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/ɛə(ɹ)ləs
- Rhymes:English/ɛə(ɹ)ləs/2 syllables
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