carelessly
/ˈkɛɹləsli/adverb
carelessly is spelled C-A-R-E-L-E-S-S-L-Y: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, carelessly means “Giving the appearance of carelessness; relaxedly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in carelessly?
| Letters | 10: C-A-R-E-L-E-S-S-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is carelessly?
Carelessly appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce carelessly?
- US /ˈkɛɹləsli/
- UK /ˈkɛələsli/
Carelessly has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-carelessly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of carelessly
- more carelessly comparative
- most carelessly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does carelessly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Giving the appearance of carelessness; relaxedly.
The papers were carelessly strewn on the table.
- 2
Done without care or attention; inattentively.
Distracted by the salesperson, he carelessly read the contract.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Carelessly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | négligemment |
| German | leichtsinnigerweise, sorglos |
| Portuguese | descuidadamente |
| Spanish | descuidadamente , desatentadamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does carelessly come from?
From careless + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).