adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of carefree
Explanation
To be carefree is to be free of care! You have no troubles or worries. Being carefree is feeling happy and breezy, like the carefree days of summer before school starts. To be carefree (one word) is to be happy and relaxed. People tend to be carefree when they're not working or thinking about work or school. Being carefree is the opposite of being stressed out. Carefree is not the same thing as careless — when you’re carefree, you haven't a care in the world and you might dance in a field of daisies. If you’re careless, you’re probably stomping on someone’s garden.
Vocabulary lists containing carefree
Smiley Face: Synonyms for "Happy"
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The Night Diary
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Gordon Lightfoot (1938–2023) Tribute List
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The carefree, sweat-drenched timelessness of Madonna’s new music couldn’t help but scratch against a very timely problem: Everything’s really bad, and finding space to let yourself forget that is increasingly difficult.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2026
It could have been in 2023, but his team were too carefree until it was too late.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
My first thought was about the state tax savings External link, which is probably as good a sign as any that my days of carefree videogame criminality remain behind me.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
Cole may have helped sell Route 66, Taylor writes, but “the carefree adventure he was promoting was not meant for him.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
I miss the happy, carefree version of Dad who was always humming jazz music and reciting French sayings.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
