different between insouciant vs listless

English

Etymology

From French insouciant, from in- (“not”, prefix) + souciant (“worrying”), 1828.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?su?s??nt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /in?susi?nt/
• Hyphenation: in?sou?ciant

Adjective

insouciant (comparative more insouciant, superlative most insouciant)

1. Casually unconcerned; carefree, indifferent, nonchalant.

Derived terms

• insouciantly

Related terms

• insouciance
• solicit
• sans-souci

Translations

References

Anagrams

• incautions

French

Etymology

in- +? souciant, from soucier.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.su.sj??/

Adjective

insouciant (feminine singular insouciante, masculine plural insouciants, feminine plural insouciantes)

1. carefree, without worries

Derived terms

• insouciance

Related terms

• sans-souci

Further reading

• “insouciant” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• continuais

English

Etymology

From Middle English lystles, equivalent to list (“desire”) +? -less. Compare Dutch lusteloos (“lethargic, listless”). Doublet of lustless.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?stl?s/

Adjective

listless (comparative more listless, superlative most listless)

1. Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.
   • 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, ch. 18:

     I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless.

   • 1861, Charlotte M. Yonge, The Stokesley Secret, ch. 6:

     What an entirely different set of beings were those Stokesley children in lesson-time. . . . Poor, listless, stolid, deplorable logs, with bowed backs and crossed ankles, pipy voices and heavy eyes!

   • 1901, William Somerset Maugham, The Hero, ch. 21:

     The scene with Mrs. Wallace had broken his spirit, and he was listless now, indifferent to what happened.

   • 2005 Nov. 29, Aryn Baker, "John Hardy: Bali Guy," Time:

     “Listless, inattentive, distracted,” he recited. “A daydreamer. Tries his best, but is too slow.”

Derived terms

• listlessly
• listlessness

Translations

Anagrams

• slitless