different between careless vs relaxed

English

Etymology

From Middle English careles, from Old English carl?as (“careless, reckless, void of care, free from care, free”), equivalent to care +? -less. Cognate with Icelandic kærulaus (“careless, negligent”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k??l?s/, /?k??l?s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k??l?s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)l?s

Adjective

careless (comparative more careless, superlative most careless)

1. Not concerned or worried (about). [from 11^thc.]

   • "He was here," observed Drina composedly, "and father was angry with him."
     "What?" exclaimed Eileen. "When?"
     "This morning, before father went downtown."
     Both Selwyn and Lansing cut in coolly, dismissing the matter with a careless word or two; and coffee was served—cambric tea in Drina's case.

2. Not giving sufficient attention or thought, especially concerning the avoidance of harm or mistakes. [from 16^thc.]
   • 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 49:

     I don't find the pose of careless youth charming and engaging any more than you find the pose of careworn age fascinating and eccentric, I should imagine.

3. (archaic) Free from care; unworried, without anxiety. [from 11^thc.]

   • Good-humored, easy, and careless, he presided over his whale-boat as if the most deadly encounter were but a dinner, and his crew all invited guests.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:careless

Derived terms

• carelessly
• carelessness

Translations

Anagrams

• acreless, raceless, rescales

English

Etymology

From relax +? -ed, originally after Latin relax?tus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???lækst/

Adjective

relaxed (comparative more relaxed, superlative most relaxed)

1. (obsolete, physiology) Made slack or feeble; weak, soft. [from 15th c.]
   • 1790, James Boswell, in Danziger & Brady (eds.), Boswell: The Great Biographer, Yale 1989, p. 54:

     It was a very wet morning. I woke relaxed and melancholy as in the country, and walked about an hour under cover, in the middle of the town […] .

2. Made more lenient; less strict; lax. [from 17th c.]
3. Free from tension or anxiety; at ease; leisurely. [from 18th c.]
4. (chiefly physics) Without physical tension; in a state of equilibrium. [from 19th c.]
5. (physiology) Of a muscle: soft, not tensed. [from 19th c.]

Synonyms

• calm

Antonyms

• stressed, nervous, anxious

Translations

Verb

relaxed

1. simple past tense and past participle of relax