careless

CEFRB1

/ˈkɛəlɪs/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Not giving enough attention to avoid mistakes or harm.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Free from care; unworried, without anxiety.

Examples

  • Careless use of the clutch may damage the gears.

  • It was careless of you to lose the key.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /keː.ləs/
  • /kiə.ləs/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Not giving sufficient attention or thought, especially concerning the avoidance of harm or mistakes.

  2. Not concerned or worried (about).

More examples

In context

  • You were careless in your action.

  • Jessica was careless about putting her shorts on properly.

  • Jessica was so careless that she put her shorts on backwards.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Because he was so blank with his phone, he dropped it in the lake and it stopped working.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English careles, from Old English carlēas (“careless, reckless, void of care, free from care, free”), equivalent to care + -less. Cognate with Icelandic kærulaus (“careless, negligent”).