étourderie

UK/eɪˈtɔːd(ə)ɹi/

noun

Thoughtlessness, carelessness; a thoughtless act.

OriginFrench étourderie →
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Meanings

nounétourderie (plural étourderies)

plural étourderies

  1. Thoughtlessness, carelessness; a thoughtless act.

    His love affairs appeared as the étourderies of a much younger man.

    1958, Iris Murdoch, The Bell
    2 more examples

    [S]ome sudden etourderie not at all in harmony with my feelings; some trait, in the character of her country, has suddenly dissolved the charm, and awakened me to a full sense of the folly I was guilty of.

    1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 119

    Henry is blameless, and in spite of a moment's étourderie thinks of nobody but you.

    1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], Mansfield Park: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC

Origin

  1. Frenchétourderie
  2. Englishétourderie

From French étourderie.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

étourderie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A9tourderie

MLA

“étourderie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A9tourderie. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “étourderie,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/%C3%A9tourderie.

Source: étourderie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.