insouciance

noun

in·​sou·​ci·​ance in-ˈsü-sē-ən(t)s  aⁿ-süs-ˈyäⁿs 

: lighthearted unconcern : nonchalance

insouciant

in-ˈsü-sē-ənt 

aⁿ-süs-ˈyäⁿ

adjective

insouciantly

in-ˈsü-sē-ənt-lē 

adverb

Did you know?

Don't worry; be insouciant. Perhaps your mind will rest easier if we explain that English speakers learned insouciance (as well as the adjective insouciant) from the French around the early 1800s. The French word comes from a combination of the negative prefix in- and soucier, meaning "to trouble or disturb." Soucier, in turn, traces to sollicitus, the Latin word for "anxious." If it seems to you that sollicitus looks a lot like some other English words you've seen, you're on to something. That root also gave us solicit (which now means "to entreat" but which was once used to mean "to fill with concern or anxiety"), solicitude (meaning "uneasiness of mind"), and solicitous ("showing or expressing concern").

Synonyms

• apathy
• casualness
• complacence
• disinterestedness
• disregard
• incuriosity
• incuriousness
• indifference
• nonchalance
• torpor
• unconcern

Examples of insouciance in a Sentence

wandered into the meeting with complete insouciance to the fact that she was late

Recent Examples on the Web

Although riffing on the archetype of the bad girl is pop tradition, the new insouciance has a distinctly mischievous bent. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 21 June 2024

For her, Gary constructs Ron, a dashing, swaggering fellow with devil-may-care insouciance and a hint of real danger. —Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024

The insouciance of this 1986 adaptation of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's musical is irresistible. —Scott Hocker, theweek, 1 May 2024

The reason for this insouciance is clear: insecurity has become a racket. —Jason K. Stearns, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2022

Word History

Etymology

French, from in- + soucier to trouble, disturb, from Old French, from Latin sollicitare — more at solicit

First Known Use

1799, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

insouciance

noun

in·​sou·​ci·​ance in-ˈsü-sē-ən(t)s 

: a lighthearted lack of concern

insouciant

-ənt 

adjective