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carelessly

/ˈkɛrlɪsli/
/ˈkɛlɪsli/
IPA guide

Use the word carelessly to describe something you do without thinking too hard about it. Carelessly kicking a stone down the sidewalk is fine, but carelessly driving a car down a busy street is a bad idea.

When you're not paying close attention, and especially when you're acting reckless, you're behaving carelessly. This adverb essentially means "without a care," and it can be used to mean "carefree," like when you carelessly whistle a tune as you stroll through the park. More often, its meaning is closer to "without caution or thought," like when your dog carelessly tramples your cat in his rush to the back door.

Definitions of carelessly
  1. adverb
    without care or concern
    carelessly raised the children's hopes without thinking of their possible disappointment”
    synonyms: heedlessly
  2. adverb
    in a rakish manner
    synonyms: raffishly, rakishly
  3. adverb
    without caution or prudence
    “one unfortunately sees historic features carelessly lost when estates fall into unsympathetic hands”
    synonyms: incautiously
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    carefully
    as if with kid gloves; with caution or prudence or tact
Pronunciation
US
/ˈkɛrlɪsli/
UK
/ˈkɛlɪsli/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘carelessly'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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