irresponsible
[ir-i-spon-suh-buh l]
- said, done, or characterized by a lack of a sense of responsibility: His refusal to work shows him to be completely irresponsible.
- not capable of or qualified for responsibility, as due to age, circumstances, or a mental deficiency.
- not responsible, answerable, or accountable to higher authority: irresponsible as a monarch.
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- an irresponsible person.
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Origin of irresponsible
Synonyms
See more synonyms for irresponsible on Thesaurus.com1. unreliable, undependable, thoughtless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for irresponsibility
Contemporary Examples
Next, add the vices of a rentier state: laziness, irresponsibility, a sense of entitlement, and ignorance.
To treat Islam as one evil enterprise “seems to me to be the height of inaccuracy and irresponsibility,” he told me forcefully.
Fairly or not, many people see that kind of amplitude of girth as a sign of irresponsibility or lack of discipline or something.
My colorful choices do not indicate any irresponsibility associated with how I handle children.
Hessler, thanks to the Post, is now the poster child for selfishness, immaturity, and irresponsibility at Occupy Wall Street.
Historical Examples
A caterer's thrifty concession to the universal passion for irresponsibility.
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
Irresponsibility ran strongly in that branch of the Butler family.
The SnareRafael Sabatini
He had a gay sense of irresponsibility, of seeking the event.
The PrisonerAlice Brown
At once, it seemed to me, he recognised the irresponsibility of his rider.
Dwellers in the HillsMelville Davisson Post
It is a fine thing to get into the freedom and irresponsibility of a big city!
Expositions of Holy ScriptureAlexander Maclaren
irresponsible
- not showing or done with due care for the consequences of one's actions or attitudes; reckless
- not capable of bearing responsibility
- archaic not answerable to a higher authority for one's actions
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for irresponsibility
n.
1818; see irresponsible + -ity.
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irresponsible
adj.
1640s, "not legally answerable for conduct or actions," from assimilated form of in- (1) "not, opposite of" + responsible. Meaning "not acting with a sense of responsibility" is from 1680s. Related: Irresponsibly.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper