careless
careless (kâr´lîs) adjective
1.Taking insufficient care; negligent: a careless housekeeper; careless proofreading.
2.Marked by or resulting from lack of forethought or thoroughness: a careless mistake.
3.Showing a lack of consideration: a careless remark.
4.Unconcerned or indifferent; heedless: careless of the consequences.
5.Unstudied or effortless: danced with careless grace.
6.Exhibiting a disposition that is free from cares; cheerful: a careless grin; a careless wave of the hand.
- care´lessly adverb
- care´lessness noun
Synonyms: careless, heedless, thoughtless, inadvertent. These adjectives apply to what is marked by insufficient care or attention. Careless often implies negligence: "It is natural for careless writers to run into faults they never think of" (George Berkeley). Heedless suggests often reckless inattentiveness: "We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics" (Franklin D. Roosevelt). Thoughtless applies to actions taken without due thought or consideration: "At length I recollected the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who, on being informed that the country people had no bread, replied, 'Let them eat cake'" (Jean Jacques Rousseau). Inadvertent is used of actions marked by unintentional lack of care: With an inadvertent gesture she swept the vase off the table onto the floor.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.
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