insouciant

English

Etymology

From French insouciant, from in- (“not”) + souciant (“worrying”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsuːsi.ənt/

Adjective

insouciant (comparative more insouciant, superlative most insouciant)

1. Carefree, nonchalant, indifferent; casually unconcerned.
   • 1903, W. Somerset Maugham, "Cadiz" in The Land of The Blessed Virgin:

     It was there that on Sunday I had seen the populace disport itself, and it was full of life then, gay and insouciant.

   • 1913, Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Golden Road, ch. 3:

     How I envied Peter his easy, insouciant manner!

   • 2004 April 26, Richard Schickel, "Sean Penn: Necessary Actor," Time:

     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."

Translations

carefree

• Czech: bezstarostný m
• Dutch: nonchalant (nl)

• Russian: беззабо́тный (ru) m (bezzabótnyj), безразли́чный (ru) m (bezrazlíčnyj)

Anagrams

• incautions

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.su.sjɑ̃/

Adjective

insouciant (feminine singular insouciante, masculine plural insouciants, feminine plural insouciantes)

1. carefree, without worries

Anagrams

• continuais

Further reading

• “insouciant” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).