different between slipshod vs careless

English

Etymology

slip + shod (“wearing shoes”), originally "wearing slippers", "slovenly" is from early 19th century.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?sl?p.??d/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?sl?p.??d/
• Rhymes: -?d

Adjective

slipshod (comparative more slipshod, superlative most slipshod)

1. Done poorly or too quickly; slapdash.
   • 1880, Mark Twain, "The Awful German Language":

     Surely there is not another language that is so slipshod and systemless, and so slippery and elusive to the grasp.

   • 1999 Aug. 22, Johanna McGeary, "Buried Alive," Time:

     Newspapers pointed at greedy contractors who used shoddy materials, slipshod methods and the help of corrupt officials to bypass building codes.

2. (obsolete) Wearing slippers or similarly open shoes.
   • 1840, Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge, Chapter 67:

     [T]hey wandered up and down hardly remembering the ways untrodden by their feet so long, and crying [...] as they slunk off in their rags, and dragged their slipshod feet along the pavement.

   • 1870, Bret Harte, "From a Back Window"

     That glossy, well-brushed individual, who lets himself in with a latch-key at the front door at night, is a very different being from the slipshod wretch who growls of mornings for hot water at the door of the kitchen.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:careless

Translations

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