carelessness

/'keəlisnis/

Thân thiện

A student's carelessness caused him to spill his science experiment.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances: This refers to a lack of proper attention or caution, leading to potential harm or mistakes.
   • The quality of not being careful or taking pains: This describes a general trait of inattentiveness, negligence, or a lack of thoroughness in one's actions.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The accident was caused by driver carelessness. (The accident resulted from the driver's failure to be prudent.)
  • His carelessness with confidential documents led to a security breach. (His lack of thoroughness in handling documents caused a security problem.)
  • A moment of carelessness can have serious consequences. (A single instance of not being attentive can lead to severe outcomes.)

Advanced Usage

• "Utter carelessness": complete and total lack of care or attention.
  • The report was rejected due to its utter carelessness.
• "Sheer carelessness": used to emphasize that an error was due to nothing but negligence.
  • Losing the keys was an act of sheer carelessness.

Variants and Related Words

• Careless (adj): not giving sufficient attention or thought to avoiding harm or errors; not careful.
  • He made a careless mistake.
• Carelessly (adv): in a careless manner.
  • He signed the document carelessly.

Synonyms

• Negligence: failure to take proper care in doing something.
• Inattention: lack of attention; heedlessness.
• Heedlessness: a lack of careful consideration.
• Sloppiness: lack of care or thoroughness; untidiness.

Antonyms

• Carefulness: the quality of being cautious, attentive, and thorough.
• Diligence: careful and persistent work or effort.
• Prudence: the quality of being cautious, especially in practical affairs.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Carelessness costs lives": A saying emphasizing that a lack of attention can lead to fatal outcomes, often used in contexts like driving or workplace safety.
• "A triumph of hope over carelessness": A humorous or critical phrase suggesting someone proceeded with an action despite clear risks due to negligence.

Học thuật

Noun

1. failure to act with the prudence that a reasonable person would exercise under the same circumstances
2. the quality of not being careful or taking pains

Từ đồng nghĩa

• negligence
• neglect
• nonperformance
• sloppiness