Meanings
plural carelessnesses
- countableuncountableLack of care; the state or quality of being careless.
This accident was caused by carelessness.
1 more example
There were, however, 34 deaths among passengers in movement accidents, due mainly to misadventure and carelessness when entering and leaving trains in motion, falling off platforms and out of carriages, and opening and closing carriage doors.
1960 December, “Talking of Trains: B.R. safety in 1959”, in Trains Illustrated, page 708Synonyms: inattention, negligence
Synonyms & antonyms
nounLack of care; the state or quality of being careless.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe quality of not being careful or taking pains
nounfailure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵeh₂r-
- Proto-Germanic*karō
- Proto-West Germanic*karu
- Old Englishcaru
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Old Englishcarlēas
- Old Englishcarlēasnes
- Middle English*carelesnes
- Englishcarelessness
From Middle English *carelesnes, *carlesnesse, from Old English carlēasnes (“freedom from care, security, carelessness”), equivalent to careless + -ness.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian лекомисленост
- лекомисленост (lekomislenost)lack of care
Catalan descurança, negligència
- descurançalack of care
- negligèncialack of care
- desídialack of care
Chinese Mandarin 粗心, 大意
- 粗心 (cūxīn)lack of care
- 大意 (dàyì)lack of care
- 草率 (cǎoshuài)lack of care
Czech lehkomyslnost, nedbalost
- lehkomyslnostlack of care
- nedbalostlack of care
- ledabylostlack of care
Dutch onvoorzichtigheid, onoplettendheid
- onvoorzichtigheidlack of care
- onoplettendheidlack of care
- achteloosheidlack of care
Esperanto malzorgeco, senzorgeco
- malzorgecolack of care
- senzorgecolack of care
Finnish huolimattomuus, varomattomuus
- huolimattomuuslack of care
- varomattomuuslack of care
French négligence, incurie
- négligencelack of care
- incurielack of care
German Unvorsichtigkeit, Leichtsinn
- Unvorsichtigkeitlack of care
- Leichtsinnlack of care
Greek απροσεξία
- απροσεξία (aprosexía)lack of care
Hindi लापरवाही, निश्चिंतता
- लापरवाही (lāparvāhī)lack of care
- निश्चिंतता (niścinttā)lack of care
- बेफ़िक्री (befikrī)lack of care
Irish leibideacht
- leibideachtlack of care
Italian negligenza
- negligenzalack of care
Japanese 軽率, 不注意
- 軽率 (kēsotsu)lack of care
- 不注意 (fuchūi)lack of care
- 油断lack of care
Latin indīligentia, incūria
- indīligentialack of care
- incūrialack of care
- neglegentialack of care
Polish lekkomyślność, bezmyślność
- lekkomyślnośćlack of care
- bezmyślnośćlack of care
Portuguese descuido, negligência
- descuidolack of care
- negligêncialack of care
Romanian nepăsare
- nepăsarelack of care
Russian беззабо́тность, легкомы́сленность
- беззабо́тность (bezzabótnostʹ)lack of care
- легкомы́сленность (lexkomýslennostʹ)lack of care
- легкомы́слие (lexkomýslije)lack of care
Slovak ledabolosť
- ledabolosťlack of care
Spanish descuido, dejadez
- descuidolack of care
- dejadezlack of care
- desprevenciónlack of care
- imprevisiónlack of care
Swedish vårdslöshet, oaktsamhet
- vårdslöshetlack of care
- oaktsamhetlack of care
- lättsinnelack of care
Tagalog kapabayaan
- kapabayaanlack of care
Vietnamese sự bất cẩn
- sự bất cẩnlack of care
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
carelessness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carelessness
“carelessness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carelessness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “carelessness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carelessness.
Source: carelessness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.