as in careless
not paying or showing close attention especially for the purpose of avoiding trouble
an incautious comment got her in political hot water
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Recent Examples of incautious
Clearly, holding single parents legally responsible for incautious, negligent or irresponsible parenting could fill up jails and prisons and impoverish such families completely and radically.
—
Ellen Sauerbrey, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2025
The pace of activity quickens in the final few days and the last hours can be especially perilous to the public interest as legislators make incautious deals to get their own languishing proposals passed.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 4 May 2024
Nationalists call on the state to punish disloyal actors, such as Western brands, Chinese feminists, and incautious celebrities.
—Chang Che, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Yet that may send the message that both borrowers and lenders can continue pursuing incautious practices in the expectation of a bailout.
—Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for incautious
Ellen Sauerbrey, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2025
The pace of activity quickens in the final few days and the last hours can be especially perilous to the public interest as legislators make incautious deals to get their own languishing proposals passed.
—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 4 May 2024
Nationalists call on the state to punish disloyal actors, such as Western brands, Chinese feminists, and incautious celebrities.
—Chang Che, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Yet that may send the message that both borrowers and lenders can continue pursuing incautious practices in the expectation of a bailout.
—Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for incautious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incautious
Adjective
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Jeffrey Glowatski, 65, pleaded guilty late last year to driving under the influence and careless driving stemming from a 2024 deadly crash along Kuntz Street when 11-year-old Roxanne Bonnoni was hit while crossing the street.—
Mike Darnay,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Legendary newspapers are being gutted by careless owners, foreign correspondents fired while still in war zones, local papers shut down entirely.—
Casey Schwartz,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The effort is designed to improve battlefield awareness when getting closer is unsafe or simply not possible.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Feb. 2026
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Thus, streets and sidewalks were expected to be icy and unsafe.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The plea deal dropped additional charges of attempting to influence a public servant, tampering with evidence, reckless endangerment, obstructing government operations and official misconduct from his case, according to Jefferson County court records.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
23 Feb. 2026
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He is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, 20 counts of cruelty to children and five counts of reckless conduct.—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incautious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incautious. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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