as in disregard
lack of interest or concern
wandered into the meeting with complete insouciance to the fact that she was late
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Recent Examples of insouciance
For here was a gay man doomed by his failure to recognize that the courtroom was a different kind of stage, one where flamboyant insouciance would bring disaster rather than applause.
—
Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026
Both arrived at Oxford with the insouciance of privilege, having been privately educated at exclusive institutions, Down at Charterhouse School (Thackeray, Vaughan Williams) and Kay at King’s College School, Wimbledon (Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Walter Sickert).
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2025
Victoria Mboko is only 18 years old, but presents more insouciance than innocence on the court.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
All the elements are here for a lively Earth-in-peril B-movie scenario, right down to the two appealing underdogs who might be humanity’s last hope, played with a keen balance of urgency and insouciance by Keery and Campbell.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for insouciance
Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026
Both arrived at Oxford with the insouciance of privilege, having been privately educated at exclusive institutions, Down at Charterhouse School (Thackeray, Vaughan Williams) and Kay at King’s College School, Wimbledon (Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Walter Sickert).
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2025
Victoria Mboko is only 18 years old, but presents more insouciance than innocence on the court.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
All the elements are here for a lively Earth-in-peril B-movie scenario, right down to the two appealing underdogs who might be humanity’s last hope, played with a keen balance of urgency and insouciance by Keery and Campbell.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for insouciance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insouciance
Noun
-
Paul Atreides in Dune, Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, Marty Mauser in Marty Supreme — these are all characters defined by otherworldly gifts, monomaniacal drive, and a cold-blooded disregard for the concerns of others.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Traditional quest narratives, shaped by the hero’s journey, are tethered to swords, battles, monsters, and a troubling disregard for collateral damage.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Among many Niger Deltans, there’s a mixture of ignorance, nonchalance, and clenched resignation around the industry’s environmental dangers, which take a back seat as folks get on with the business of everyday survival.—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
-
As Hüller approaches her father at the keyboard, her anger manifests as a kind of bored nonchalance.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Would a cyberattack that kills people finally shake us out of our indifference?—
Neil J. Rubenking,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Wilkens was serving a life sentence for shooting and killing her ex-fiancé after years of abuse and stalking and indifference from the police.—
Pamela Colloff,
ProPublica,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insouciance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insouciance. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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