Nearby Words
| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | without purpose |
| Synonyms: | aimless, carefree, careless, feeble, fustian, futile, good-for-nothing, hopeless, incautious, incompetent, ineffective, ineffectual, irresponsible, meaningless, reckless, shiftless, uncareful, useless, weak, wild, worthless |
| Notes: | feckless means ineffective or having no real worth or purpose; reckless means marked by unthinking boldness or with defiant disregard for danger or consequences |
| Antonyms: | competent, effective, effectual, efficient, purposeful, responsible, strong, useful |
| Main Entry: | heedless |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | careless |
| Synonyms: | asleep at the switch, daydreaming, disregardful, fast and loose, feckless, foolhardy, goofing off, impetuous, imprudent, inadvertent, inattentive, incautious, inconsiderate, irreflective, neglectful, negligent, oblivious, out to lunch, precipitate, rash, reckless, slapdash, sloppy, thoughtless, uncaring, unmindful, unobservant, unthinking, unwary |
| Antonyms: | attentive, careful, caring, cautious, concerned, heedful, observant, thoughtful |
| Main Entry: | inadvertent |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | accidental |
| Synonyms: | careless, chance, feckless, heedless, irreflective, negligent, not on purpose, reckless, thoughtless, uncaring, unconcerned, undesigned, undevised, unheeding, unintended, unintentional, unmindful, unplanned, unpremeditated, unthinking, unthought, unwitting |
| Antonyms: | advertent, attentive, deliberate, intentional, planned |
| Main Entry: | ineffective/ineffectual |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | weak, useless |
| Synonyms: | abortive, anticlimactic, barren, bootless, defeasible, feckless, feeble, forceless, fruitless, futile, idle, impotent, inadequate, incompetent, indecisive, inefficacious, inefficient, inept, inferior, innocuous, inoperative, invertebrate, lame, limited, neutralized, nugatory, null, null and void, paltry, powerless, spineless, unable, unavailing, unfruitful, unproductive, unprofitable, unsuccessful, vain, void, withered, worthless |
| Antonyms: | competent, effective, effectual, efficient, powerful, strong, useful |
| Main Entry: | irresponsible |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | careless, reckless |
| Synonyms: | capricious, carefree, devil-may-care, feckless, fickle, flighty, fly-by-night, giddy, harebrained, ill-considered, immature, immoral, incautious, lax, loose*, no-account, rash, scatterbrained, shiftless, thoughtless, unaccountable, unanswerable, uncareful, undependable, unpredictable, unreliable, unstable, untrustworthy, wild |
| Antonyms: | accountable, careful, liable, reliable, responsible, trustworthy |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | meaningless |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | without use, value, worth |
| Synonyms: | absurd, aimless, blank, doesn't cut it, double-talk, doublespeak, empty, feckless, fustian, futile, good-for-nothing, hollow, hot air, inane, inconsequential, insignificant, insubstantial, nonsensical, nothing, nugatory, pointless, purportless, purposeless, senseless, trifling, trivial, unimportant, unmeaning, unpurposed, useless, vacant, vague, vain, valueless, vapid, worthless |
| Antonyms: | meaningful, significant, useful, valuable, worthwhile |
| Main Entry: | purposeless |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | useless, insignificant |
| Synonyms: | aimless, designless, desultory, drifting, empty, feckless, floundering, fustian, goalless, good-for-nothing, haphazard, hit-or-miss, indiscriminate, irregular, meaningless, motiveless, needless, nonsensical, pointless, purportless, random, senseless, uncalled for, undirected, unhelpful, unnecessary, unplanned, unprofitable, unpurposed, vacuous, wanton, worthless |
| Antonyms: | decided, deliberate, determined, planned, purposeful, significant, useful |
| Main Entry: | reckless |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | irresponsible in thought, deed |
| Synonyms: | adventuresome, adventurous, any which way, audacious, brash, breakneck, carefree, careless, daredevil, daring, desperate, devil-may-care, fast and loose, feckless, foolhardy, harebrained, hasty, headlong, heedless, helter-skelter, hopeless, hotheaded, ill-advised, imprudent, inattentive, incautious, inconsiderate, indiscreet, kooky, madcap, mindless, negligent, overventuresome, playing with fire, precipitate, rash, regardless, temerarious, thoughtless, uncareful, venturesome, venturous, wild |
| Notes: | feckless means ineffective or having no real worth or purpose; reckless means marked by unthinking boldness or with defiant disregard for danger or consequences rash (the adjective) suggests imprudence and lack of forethought; reckless implies disregard of possible consequences |
| Antonyms: | careful, cautious, responsible, wary |
| Main Entry: | unconcerned |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | carefree; apathetic |
| Synonyms: | aloof, blind, blithe, callous, careless, cold, cool, deaf, detached, dispassionate, distant, easy, feckless, forgetful, hard-hearted, hardened, heedless, impassive, inattentive, incurious, indifferent, insensible, insensitive, insouciant, lackadaisical, lukewarm, negligent, neutral, nonchalant, oblivious, phlegmatic, relaxed, reserved, self-centered, serene, stony, supine, unbothered, uninterested, uninvolved, unmoved, unperturbed, unruffled, unsympathetic, untroubled, unworried |
| Antonyms: | caring, concerned, curious, interested |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
