careless
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- slapdash, cavalier, inaccurate, irresponsible, lackadaisical, neglectful, offhand, slipshod, sloppy (informal)
- negligent, absent-minded, forgetful, hasty, remiss, thoughtless, unthinking
- nonchalant, artless, casual, unstudied

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Antonyms: careful
Contrasted words: careful, heedful, thoughtful, concerned, considerate, punctilious, scrupulous
Related Words: forgetful, inattentive, oblivious, unmindful, lax, neglectful, negligent, slack, unconcerned, uninterested, inadequate, incapable, unfit, unqualified

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English Thesaurus: careless, clumsy, sloppy, reckless, irresponsible, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

care‧less /ˈkeələs $ ˈker-/ adjective
[Word Family: noun: care, carer; adjective: careful ≠ careless, caring ≠ UNCARING; verb: care; adverb: carefully ≠ carelessly]

1. not paying enough attention to what you are doing, so that you make mistakes, damage things etc Antonym : careful:
It was careless of him to leave the door unlocked.
a careless mistake
careless driving
careless with
He’s careless with his glasses and has lost three pairs.
Careless talk can be disastrous for a business.

2. [usually before noun] natural and not done with any deliberate effort or attention:
He ran a hand through his hair with a careless gesture.

3. not concerned about something
careless of
a man careless of his own safety
She gave a careless shrug.
HINT:
► Do not use ‘careless’ to mean that someone has no worries. Use carefree: They all felt happy and carefree.
—carelessly adverb
—carelessness noun [uncountable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

careless
adj.
VERBS be | become, get, grow She had begun to grow careless.
make sb Boredom made him careless.
ADV. extremely, very | a bit, a little, rather a rather careless mistake
notoriously
PREP. about She's careless about her spelling.
of When performing his stunts he was notoriously careless of his own safety.
with He's very careless with money.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

careless
adjective
BAD: How wonderful it would be to be young and careless again!
GOOD: How wonderful it would be to be young and carefree again!

Usage Note:
careless = paying too little attention to something: 'If you're careless, you're bound to make mistakes.'
carefree = happy because you have no worries or responsibilities: 'Some children never know what it means to be carefree.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

careless not paying enough attention to what you are doing, so that you make mistakes, damage things etc:
I made a few careless mistakes.
It was careless of you to leave your purse lying about.
He started getting careless about taking his medication.
clumsy often dropping or breaking things because you move around in a careless way:
I’m so clumsy, I spilt milk all over the floor.
a clumsy child
sloppy careless and lazy in the way you do your work or in your behaviour generally:
As a student, he was brilliant but sloppy.
I will not tolerate sloppy work.
reckless especially written doing dangerous or stupid things without thinking about your own or other people’s safety:
The driver of the car was arrested for reckless driving.
His actions showed a reckless disregard for human life.
irresponsible careless in a way that might affect other people, especially when you should be taking care of them:
It’s irresponsible for parents to let their children smoke.
his irresponsible attitude to keeping animals
tactless carelessly saying something that upsets or embarrasses someone, without intending to do this:
He kept making tactless remarks about her appearance.
a tactless question
I thought it would be tactless to ask about her divorce.
casual not being careful enough about something and treating it as though it is not important:
He seems to have a very casual attitude towards his work.
She disliked the casual way in which he made decisions affecting other people’s lives.
negligent careless about something that you are responsible for, so that serious mistakes are made – used especially when someone will be officially punished for this:
The doctor was negligent in using the wrong type of needle.
They found him guilty of negligent conduct.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲