different between careless vs unconscious

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

un- +? conscious

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??n?k?n??s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??n?k?n??s/
• Hyphenation: un?con?scious

Adjective

unconscious (comparative more unconscious, superlative most unconscious)

1. Not awake; having no awareness.

   After the anesthetist administered the general anesthetic the patient was unconscious.

2. Without directed thought or awareness.

   My sudden fright was an unconscious response.

   • 1884, Margaret Oliphant, The Wizard's Son

     It was intolerable, he felt, to sit and eat in presence of that silent figure partly turned away from him, jotting down the different amounts on a bit of paper, and absorbed in that occupation as if unconscious of his presence.

3. (sports) engaged in skilled performance without conscious control.
   • 1999, Joseph Leininger, Terry Whalin, Lessons from the Pit: A Successful Veteran of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, page 10

     "I was unconscious," the basketball player gushes. "It seemed like everything I threw up toward the basket went straight in."

Synonyms

• (not awake; having no awareness): insentient, oblivious, out of it, out on one's feet, unaware, down for the count, lost to the world
• (skilled performance without conscious control): in the zone, on a roll

Translations

Noun

unconscious (plural unconsciouses)

1. (psychology) Unconscious mind

Derived terms

• collective unconscious

Translations

Further reading

• "unconscious" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 320.