carelessness

/ˈkɛɹləsnəs/

//ˈkɛɹləsnəs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"carelessness" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“carelessness” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,647. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,647
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Lack of care; the state or quality of being careless.

Corpus desk

Index EN-carelessness · carelessness · English

carelessness · rank #35,647 · 15 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,647
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH carbine

Nearest frequency peer: carbine (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “carelessness”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “carelessness” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for carelessness
PropertyValue
Headwordcarelessness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɛɹləsnəs/
Letters12
Frequency rank#35,647
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “carelessness”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).carelessnesslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “carbine” (#35,646), “CBO” (#35,648), “Cdn” (#35,649). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “carelessness” is #35,647. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around carelessness (IPA /ˈkɛɹləsnəs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,647 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Lack of care; the state or quality of being careless.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for carelessness, with forms such as "acrelessness", "caerlessness", and "careelssness". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English *carelesnes, *carlesnesse, from Old English carlēasnes (“freedom from care, security, carelessness”), equivalent to careless + -ness. The correct English form is carelessness, spelled C-A-R-E-L-E-S-S-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lack of care; the state or quality of being careless.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how carelessness appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This accident was caused by carelessness.
  2. There were, however, 34 deaths among passengers in movement accidents, due mainly to misadventure and carelessness when entering and leaving trains in motion, falling off platforms and out of carriages, and opening and closing carriage doors.

Etymology

From Middle English *carelesnes, *carlesnesse, from Old English carlēasnes (“freedom from care, security, carelessness”), equivalent to careless + -ness.

Synonyms

inattentionnegligence

Antonyms

carefulness

This word in other languages

descuido(Español)négligence(Français)Unvorsichtigkeit(Deutsch)descuido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acrelessness
  • caerlessness
  • careelssness
  • carelesness
  • carelesnsess
  • carelessenss
  • carelessnes
  • carelessnness
  • carelessnses
  • carellessness
  • carelsesness
  • carleessness
  • carrelessness
  • ccarelessness
  • craelessness

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of carelessness - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

acrelessness2caerlessness2careelssness2carelesness1carelesnsess2carelessenss2carelessnes1carelessnness1
Edit distance from "carelessness"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "carelessness"?
"carelessness" is spelled C-A-R-E-L-E-S-S-N-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɛɹləsnəs/.
What does "carelessness" mean?
As a noun, "carelessness" means: Lack of care; the state or quality of being careless.
What are common misspellings of "carelessness"?
Common misspellings include "acrelessness", "caerlessness", "careelssness", "carelesness", "carelesnsess". The correct spelling is "carelessness".
How do you pronounce "carelessness"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "carelessness" is /ˈkɛɹləsnəs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "carelessness"?
From Middle English *carelesnes, *carlesnesse, from Old English carlēasnes (“freedom from care, security, carelessness”), equivalent to careless + -ness. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "carelessness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

commensurate#35,659subjectivity#35,541indefensible#35,772inextricably#35,776

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

Butterfield15 variantsChongqing15 variantschuckling15 variantsalternator15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list