incautious

If you're incautious, you don't worry about problems that might come up — you're a little irresponsible. An incautious person might paddle off in a kayak without putting a life jacket on.

Incautious behavior might include betting your whole paycheck on a poker game, bringing six stray dogs home, or lighting a bottle rocket and launching it from your hand. Incautious children are probably used to hearing adults telling them to be careful. Incautious is a combination of in-, "not" and cautious, "careful." It's derived from the Latin adjective incautus stemming from the noun cautionem, "caution, care, or foresight."

Definitions of incautious

1. adjective

   lacking in caution
   “an incautious remark”

   “incautious talk”

   synonyms:

   adventuresome, adventurous

   willing to undertake or seeking out new and daring enterprises

   careless

   marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful

   brainish, hotheaded, impetuous, impulsive, madcap, tearaway

   characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation

   antonyms:

   cautious

   showing careful forethought

   unadventurous

   lacking in boldness

   careful

   exercising caution or showing care or attention

   cagey, cagy, chary

   characterized by great caution and wariness

   fabian

   using cautious slow strategy to wear down opposition; avoiding direct confrontation

   gingerly

   with extreme care or delicacy

   guarded, restrained

   prudent

   overcautious

   unnecessarily cautious
2. adjective

   carelessly failing to exercise proper caution
   “an incautious step sent her headlong down the stairs”

   synonyms:

   careless

   marked by lack of attention or consideration or forethought or thoroughness; not careful