english
1
general::
careless
not paying enough attention to what you are doing, so that you make mistakes, damage things etc:
• I made a few careless mistakes. • It was careless of you to leave your purse lying about. • He started getting careless about taking his medication.
clumsy
often dropping or breaking things because you move around in a careless way:
• I’m so clumsy, I spilt milk all over the floor. • a clumsy child
sloppy
careless and lazy in the way you do your work or in your behaviour generally:
• As a student, he was brilliant but sloppy. • I will not tolerate sloppy work.
reckless
especially written doing dangerous or stupid things without thinking about your own or other people’s safety:
• The driver of the car was arrested for reckless driving. • His actions showed a reckless disregard for human life.
irresponsible
careless in a way that might affect other people, especially when you should be taking care of them:
• It’s irresponsible for parents to let their children smoke. • his irresponsible attitude to keeping animals
tactless
carelessly saying something that upsets or embarrasses someone, without intending to do this:
• He kept making tactless remarks about her appearance. • a tactless question • I thought it would be tactless to ask about her divorce.
casual
not being careful enough about something and treating it as though it is not important:
• He seems to have a very casual attitude towards his work. • She disliked the casual way in which he made decisions affecting other people’s lives.
negligent
careless about something that you are responsible for, so that serious mistakes are made – used especially when someone will be officially punished for this:
• The doctor was negligent in using the wrong type of needle. • They found him guilty of negligent conduct.
Longman-Thesaurus
2
general::
adj. VERBS be | become, get, grow She had begun to grow careless. | make sb Boredom made him careless. ADV. extremely, very | a bit, a little, rather a rather careless mistake | notoriously PREP. about She's careless about her spelling. | of When performing his stunts he was notoriously careless of his own safety. | with He's very careless with money.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
3
general::
adj.
not careful:
She is a careless worker.
Simple Definitions