insouciant

American  

[in-soo-see-uhnt, an-soo-syahn] / ɪnˈsu si ənt, ɛ̃ suˈsyɑ̃ /

adjective

1. free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.

   Synonyms:

   unconcerned, easygoing, relaxed, breezy, jaunty, lighthearted

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insouciant British  

/ ɪnˈsuːsɪənt /

adjective

1. carefree or unconcerned; light-hearted

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Other Word Forms

• insouciance noun
• insouciantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of insouciant

First recorded in 1820–30; from French, equivalent to in- in- ³ + souciant “worrying,” present participle of soucier “to worry,” from Vulgar Latin sollicītāre (unrecorded), from Latin sollicitāre “to disturb”; solicitous

Example Sentences

On one side of her imaginary rocket, two women strike the insouciant pose of Lucas Cranach’s the Elder’s 1529 canvas, “Venus standing in a landscape.”

From Los Angeles Times

Periodically, she would give the braid an insouciant toss, somewhat in the manner of a contestant on a vogueing runway.

From New York Times

This shuffle of identities is insouciantly performed as a minstrel carnival.

From Los Angeles Times

His second includes a joke: Imaginary dirt, insouciantly tossed in the air, has to be flicked off a moment later.

From New York Times

She said this last part, about the mugs, with such a charmingly insouciant shrug that by the time she signed off — “Can’t wait to see you, cheers” — I felt, actually, happy for her.

From New York Times