insouciance
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of insouciance
From French, dating back to 1790–1800; see origin at insouciant, -ance
Explanation
Insouciance is a feeling of careless indifference. There's a certain amount of lightheartedness in insouciance, but rather than merely being cheerful, someone with insouciance truly couldn't care less. Insouciance has roots in the French in, meaning "not," and se soucier, meaning "to care," giving the English word its "uncaring" meaning. Insouciance can be a positive state — like the childlike insouciance you feel when you are watching cartoons instead of paying your bills. However, insouciance is not always so sunny. Young voters are often accused of treating the right to vote with insouciance, meaning they just can't be bothered.
Vocabulary lists containing insouciance
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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.
Dancing’s insouciance is reexamined so frequently throughout the album’s first half that one might read its message as hollow, like a desperate attempt to ignore all of the troubles outside the club.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2026
And he has done so with a light-fingered insouciance that makes every scene incandescent with funny contemporary allusions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
Oliver’s pointed insouciance concerning the jokey charity threat is about as predictable as Jean Smart’s repeat win in the best comedy actress race and the massive haul for “The Studio.”
From Salon • Sep. 15, 2025
City's team structure has seldom afforded Grealish the license to take on and glide past opponents as he did with such insouciance as the talismanic captain at boyhood club Aston Villa.
From BBC • Aug. 11, 2025
He tried to tighten up his face into a mask of insouciance, worldliness, and control.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
