Careless

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈkɛəlɪs/

Definitions

1. Exhibiting a mindset that overlooks important details can lead to mistakes or mishaps
2. Displaying a lack of attention or consideration for details can result in unintended errors or accidents
3. Demonstrating negligence in one's actions often causes significant problems or oversights

Etymology: "Careless" once meant the opposite of what it means now. In Old English, "carlēas" meant "free from care," so it described someone untroubled, even fearless, rather than someone neglectful. The sense of heedlessness grew later, while the older sense of being free from worry faded away. The word is a straightforward compound of "care" and the suffix "-less," meaning "without." "Care" itself comes from Old English "caru," which carried the sense of grief, sorrow, or anxiety before it came to mean attention or concern. So a person who was "carelēas" was once someone without sorrow or anxiety. The word passed into Middle English as "careles," and the modern "careless" reflects the shift from "without worry" to "without attention." Its Icelandic cousin "kærulaus" still carries the sense of negligence, showing that the meaning shift was shared across the related languages.

Synonyms: reckless, negligent, sloppy, hasty, indifferent

Antonyms: careful, cautious, meticulous, diligent, attentive