irresponsible

adjective ir·re·spon·si·ble \ ˌir-i-ˈspän(t)-sə-bəl \

Updated on: 20 May 2018

Definition of irresponsible

: not responsible: such as

a : not answerable to higher authority

an irresponsible dictatorship

b : said or done with no sense of responsibility

irresponsible accusations

c : lacking a sense of responsibility

d : unable especially mentally or financially to bear responsibility

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irresponsibility

play \ˌir-i-ˌspän(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

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irresponsibleness

play \ˌir-i-ˈspän(t)-sə-bəl-nəs\ noun

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irresponsibly

play \ˌir-i-ˈspän(t)-sə-blē\ adverb

See irresponsible defined for English-language learners

See irresponsible defined for kids

Examples of irresponsible in a Sentence

He's too irresponsible to keep a job for more than a week.
She made irresponsible comments that helped cause the riot.
It would be irresponsible to ignore the threats.

Recent Examples of irresponsible from the Web

The common thread is that science can be exciting, beautiful, and helpful, but also irresponsible, perverse, and destructive.

— sean w. fleming, WIRED, "Lessons from Montecito: Science's Credibility Is At Stake," 14 May 2018
The State Senate recently passed a plan, backed by Mr. Chamberlain, that would cut rates and impose an automatic trigger that would lower taxes further anytime the state runs a budget surplus — a move Democrats call fiscally irresponsible.

— ben casselman, New York Times, "Federal Tax Cuts Leave States in a Bind," 12 May 2018
The state Senate recently passed a plan, backed by Chamberlain, that would cut rates and impose an automatic trigger that would lower taxes further anytime the state runs a budget surplus — a move Democrats call fiscally irresponsible.

— ben casselman, BostonGlobe.com, "Federal tax cuts give many states cash windfall," 12 May 2018
Making national policy on the strength of a partial approach to one part of an exceptional access system is irresponsible, especially when there are alternative answers from companies like Grayshift and an older competitor, Cellebrite.

— Ars Technica, "Op-ed: Ray Ozzie’s crypto proposal—a dose of technical reality," 7 May 2018
And how irresponsible for Abbas — a world leader of sorts — to spew such low-level, garden variety anti-Semitic canards.

— nicholas goldberg, latimes.com, "Mahmoud Abbas' reprehensible anti-Semitic comments deserve unequivocal condemnation," 2 May 2018
That’s stunningly irresponsible, particularly when there’s heightened security around the world these days. 8.

— peter king, SI.com, "NFL Catch Rule, Rewritten: League Aims to Simplify; Result Could Complicate," 26 Mar. 2018
This is irresponsible and puts people's health in jeopardy.

— gigi engle, Allure, "9 Sex Myths You Need to Stop Believing," 18 Jan. 2018
Outside of legal ramifications, irresponsible and jerky drone pilots do no favors for the technology’s already dubious public image.

— faine greenwood, Slate Magazine, "Merry Crashmas," 3 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'irresponsible.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of irresponsible

1648

in the meaning defined above

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irresponsible Synonyms

irresponsible

noun

Definition of irresponsible

: a person who is irresponsible

First Known Use of irresponsible

1892

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

IRRESPONSIBLE Defined for English Language Learners

irresponsible

adjective

Definition of irresponsible for English Language Learners

: not having or showing maturity or good judgment : not responsible

IRRESPONSIBLE Defined for Kids

irresponsible

adjective ir·re·spon·si·ble \ ˌir-i-ˈspän-sə-bəl \

Definition of irresponsible for Students

: having or showing little or no sense of responsibility

You're too irresponsible for a pet.

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irresponsibly

\-ˈspän-sə-blē\ adverb

Medical Dictionary

irresponsible

adjective ir·re·spon·si·ble \ ˌir-i-ˈspän(t)-sə-bəl \

medical Definition of irresponsible

: not responsible : mentally inadequate to bear responsibility

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irresponsibility

play \-ˌspän(t)-sə-ˈbil-ət-ē\ noun, plural -ties

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irresponsible

Definition of irresponsible

irresponsibility

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irresponsibly

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irresponsible

Definition of irresponsible

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IRRESPONSIBLE Defined for English Language Learners

irresponsible

Definition of irresponsible for English Language Learners

IRRESPONSIBLE Defined for Kids

irresponsible

Definition of irresponsible for Students

irresponsibly

Medical Dictionary

irresponsible

medical Definition of irresponsible

irresponsibility

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