careless
- 1Not giving enough attention or thought to something, especially when harm or mistakes could result.
A careless error in the report cost the company thousands of dollars.
She grew careless with deadlines after years in the same job.
Oppositecareful, attentive, thorough, meticulous
- 2Not concerned or worried about something; indifferent to it.
Careless of the storm warnings, the sailors pushed farther out to sea.
He was careless about money, spending whatever he earned without a thought.
Similarheedless, unconcerned, indifferent, unmindful
Oppositemindful, heedful, concerned
Note
Here the word keeps its literal makeup, care plus -less, from Old English carlēas. The indifference usually has an object, introduced by of or about: careless of the storm warnings, careless about money. Robert W. Chambers, in The Younger Set (1907), applies it to a single gesture, a careless word that dismisses a matter. Unlike the "negligent" meaning, no mistake is implied. The person simply does not mind.
- 3Free from care; unworried and untroubled by anxiety.
They passed a careless afternoon in the meadow, far from the troubles of town.
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.
1851, Herman Melville, Moby-DickSimilarcarefree, relaxed, easygoing, unconcerned, casual
Note
The cheerful side of the word, and now an archaic one, describes a temperament that is untroubled rather than inattentive. Melville uses it in Moby-Dick (1851), "Good-humored, easy, and careless," for a man who meets a deadly encounter as if it were a dinner. Because it is archaic, a reader may take it as the "negligent" meaning. Outside deliberately old-fashioned writing, laid-back or unconcerned says the same thing more safely.
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Origin
From Middle English careles, from Old English carlēas ('careless, reckless, free from care'), formed from care plus the suffix -less. It is related to Icelandic kærulaus ('careless, negligent').