English Dictionary |
HEEDLESSNESS
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
Dictionary entry overview: What does heedlessness mean?
• HEEDLESSNESS (noun)
The noun HEEDLESSNESS has 3 senses:
1. a lack of attentiveness (as to children or helpless people)
2. the trait of acting rashly and without prudence
3. the trait of forgetting or ignoring your responsibilities
Familiarity information: HEEDLESSNESS used as a noun is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A lack of attentiveness (as to children or helpless people)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Synonyms:
heedlessness; inattentiveness
Hypernyms ("heedlessness" is a kind of...):
inattention (lack of attention)
Derivation:
heedless (marked by or paying little heed or attention)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The trait of acting rashly and without prudence
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
heedlessness; mindlessness; rashness
Hypernyms ("heedlessness" is a kind of...):
imprudence (a lack of caution in practical affairs)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "heedlessness"):
lightheadedness (a frivolous lack of prudence)
Derivation:
heedless (characterized by careless unconcern)
heedless (marked by or paying little heed or attention)
Sense 3
Meaning:
The trait of forgetting or ignoring your responsibilities
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
heedlessness; inadvertence; inadvertency; unmindfulness
Hypernyms ("heedlessness" is a kind of...):
attentiveness (the trait of being observant and paying attention)
Antonym:
heedfulness (the trait of staying aware of (paying close attention to) your responsibilities)
Context examples
There, he had learnt to distinguish between the steadiness of principle and the obstinacy of self-will, between the darings of heedlessness and the resolution of a collected mind.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
Vanity, extravagance, love of change, restlessness of temper, which must be doing something, good or bad; heedlessness as to the pleasure of his father and Mrs. Weston, indifferent as to how his conduct might appear in general; he became liable to all these charges.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Learn English with... Proverbs |
"Mind the goats so that you will drink their milk." (Albanian proverb)
"On the day of victory no one is tired." (Arabic proverb)
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." (Corsican proverb)