careless

adjective

care·less ˈker-ləs

Synonyms of careless next

: free from care : untroubled

careless days

: indifferent, unconcerned

careless of the consequences

: not taking care

My brother was too careless of his charge.—

Shakespeare

: not showing or receiving care:

: negligent, slovenly

careless writing

: unstudied, spontaneous

a careless grace

a careless glance

obsolete : unvalued, disregarded

carelessly adverb

carelessness noun

Examples of careless in a Sentence

He is a careless worker. She was careless with my things. It was a careless mistake. a newspaper known for careless reporting

Recent Examples on the Web But the revolution, and the Russian annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas that followed, also triggered careless destruction of Kyiv’s Soviet-era public spaces, as nationalists took out their frustrations at the present on the monuments of the past. —

Jason Farago, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2023 Weighing the extinction of species through our careless stewardship of nature’s bounty against the near-term cost of regulation demonstrates human shortsightedness at best, and stupidity and cynicism at worst. —

Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023 Netanyahu sat there, mute and impassive, uncharacteristically careless about the optics. —

Ruth Margalit, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023 The careless penalties don’t include the blunder that led to Indiana State’s only points of the night. —

Zion Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Sep. 2023 That’s part of why she’s chosen by Diane as a disrupter, because there’s something brave and audacious and bold and careless about her. —

Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2023 The driver was issued citations for driving under the influence of intoxicants, no operator’s license, driving uninsured, unsafe passing on the right, failure to obey a traffic control device, failure to drive within the lane and careless driving contributing to an accident. —

The Oregonian, oregonlive, 5 Aug. 2023 Prosecutors had earlier determined that Reyes Martinez’s driving, while careless, did not meet the threshold of Maryland’s vehicle manslaughter laws, a conclusion that Daniel Langenkamp said in an interview highlights a gap in state law. —

Dan Morse, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2023 Martinez detained the woman for driving under the influence and careless driving. —

Kerry Breen, CBS News, 22 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'careless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.