insouciant

[ in-soo-see-uhnt; French an-soo-syahn ]

adjective

1. free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.

   Synonyms: unconcerned, easygoing, relaxed, breezy, jaunty, lighthearted

insouciant

/ ɪnˈsuːsɪənt /

adjective

1. carefree or unconcerned; light-hearted

Derived Forms

• inˈsouciance, noun
• inˈsouciantly, adverb

Other Words From

• in·souci·ant·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of insouciant¹

First recorded in 1820–30; from French, equivalent to in- in- ³ + souciant “worrying,” present participle of soucier “to worry,” from Vulgar Latin sollicītāre (unrecorded), from Latin sollicitāre “to disturb”; solicitous

Word History and Origins

Origin of insouciant¹

C19: from French, from in- ¹+ souciant worrying, from soucier to trouble, from Latin sollicitāre; compare solicitous

Example Sentences

Her poems are marked by an insouciant sense of hope, something she sees as a necessity in these times.

From Time

It is an example of insouciant royal play, and the fun of something going wrong.

From The Daily Beast

Because he is a mouthy, insouciant rascal with a great shtick.

From The Daily Beast

Together they read like a dive-bar lecture series: insouciant, slightly surly, mock profound.

From The Daily Beast

With that mask on, I fluff the ends of my hair into a structured but insouciant flip.

From The Daily Beast

There was no secernment between her soul and surface; she was mere, insouciant, with a rare dulcedo.

From Project Gutenberg

More or less—an insouciant manner, and a rather startling button-hole.

From Project Gutenberg

Adversity came to the insouciant grey battery, adversity quickening to disaster.

From Project Gutenberg

At St Malo, as the tide ebbed, all the delightfully insouciant and cheery French world congregated.

From Project Gutenberg

Indolent, insouciant and apathetic, the Arab lives to-day as in the past, indifferent to all progress.

From Project Gutenberg