incautious
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incautious
1695–1705; in- 3 + cautious; compare Latin incautus in same sense
Explanation
If you're incautious, you don't worry about problems that might come up — you're a little irresponsible. An incautious person might paddle off in a kayak without putting a life jacket on. Incautious behavior might include betting your whole paycheck on a poker game, bringing six stray dogs home, or lighting a bottle rocket and launching it from your hand. Incautious children are probably used to hearing adults telling them to be careful. Incautious is a combination of in-, "not" and cautious, "careful." It's derived from the Latin adjective incautus stemming from the noun cautionem, "caution, care, or foresight."
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.
We’re a long way from those incautious days.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026
Even the animals are distinctive—especially Kōkī, the pet parrot who acts like a Shakespearean fool, squawking incautious truths to Tongan authority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
Still, it was an inappropriate, incautious statement from a Supreme Court justice who should have known better.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024
Mr. Biden, as rendered by Mr. Biden, is a particularly vivid character, unguarded and at times politically incautious.
From New York Times ● Jun. 11, 2020
Although he was rash, untutored in the ways of the backcountry, and incautious to the point of foolhardiness, he wasn’t incompetent—he wouldn’t have lasted 113 days if he were.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
