insouciant en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ɪnˈsuːsɪənt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /inˈsusiənt/ (General-American)
- (General-American) audio
Etymology
From French insouciant, from in- (“not”, prefix) + souciant (“worrying”), 1828.
Meanings
-
Casually unconcerned; carefree, indifferent, nonchalant.
As a fashion editor, I pay obsessive attention to my appearance. Even when I pretend to look insouciant, each look has been painfully considered. The right earrings, coordinating shoes, the careful symmetry of a well-balanced look — these are things that please me. The gym has crushed my sartorial ambitions.
2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times:"I am quite serious in saying that your loss must and would be felt; but I verily believe," added she, after a moment's hesitation, "that you are so insouciant yourself, that you cannot believe that every body else is not equally indifferent."
1834, [Theresa Lewis], chapter XII, in Countess of Morley [Frances Talbot Parker], editor, Dacre: A Novel. … In Three Volumes, volume II, London: Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, […], →OCLC, page 220:When we left the Marr house, he [Peter] had boldly said to Felicity, "May I see you home?" And Felicity, much to our amazement, had taken his arm and marched off with him. […] As for me, I was consumed by a secret and burning desire to ask the Story Girl if I might see her home; but I could not screw my courage to the sticking point. How I envied Peter his easy, insouciant manner!
1913 August, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “The Christmas Harp”, in The Golden Road, Boston, Mass.: The Page Company, published April 1926, →OCLC, pages 31–32:an insouciant gesture
It was there [Cadiz, Spain] that on Sunday I had seen the populace disport itself, and it was full of life then, gay and insouciant.
1905, William Somerset Maugham, chapter XXXVIII, in The Land of the Blessed Virgin: Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 215:[…] [Jack] Nicholson turned to an assistant, bummed a cigarette, flashed one of his wolfish, insouciant grins and said, "We all have our little secrets, Seany."
2004 April 26, Richard Schickel, “Sean Penn: Necessary Actor”, in Time, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2008:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most insouciant | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more insouciant | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
solicit · sans-souci · insouciance
Synonyms
laid-back · deaf · unbothered · blithe · insouciant · blasé · halfhearted · casual · torpedinous · easygoing · insensible · cool · careless · mellow · supine · ineffervescible · adiaphroistic · unconcerned · torpid · relaxed · easy-breezy · phlegmatic · blasé · nonchalant · unimpressible · uninterested · chill · apathetic · tranquil · unanxious · unaroused · leisurely · insouciant · listless · Laodicean · unenthusiastic · unruffled · uncaring · mopey · indifferent · offhand · lotophagous · languorous · enervated · wanton · spiritless · lethargic · tepid · world-weary · pococurante · unmoved · jaded · heartless · cool · nonplussed · loose · impassive · languid · airy · unconcerned · meh · uninterested · solute · at ease · lighthearted · lukewarm · lackadaisical · dull · otiose · nonchalant · pococurante · gallionic · untroubled · shiftless · happy-go-lucky · indifferent · unworried · serene · untouched · apathistical · carefree · devil-may-care · dispassionate · at peace · unzealous · unlively · undisturbed
Translations (14)
nl nonchalant (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · ru беззабо́тный (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · pl niefrasobliwy (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · el αμέριμνος (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · ru безразли́чный (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · ka უდარდელი (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · mi arokore (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · mi ngākaukore (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · gv neuchurrymagh (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · tr dinç (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · cs bezstarostný (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · pt despreocupado (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · fr insouciant (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant) · mi haumaruru (casually unconcerned — see also carefree, nonchalant)