Synonyms for irresponsible
- adjective
Most common
devil-may-care unreliable unaccountable feckless lawless carefree
All synonyms
Adjective
Definitions
- adj. 1
Lacking a sense of responsibility; performed or acting as though without responsibility; negligent.
Related words
- Word family
- irresponsibility irresponsibleness irresponsibly
Choose the right word
Irresponsible power is not necessarily bad, but eminently dangerous; an executor or trustee should not be irresponsible; an irresponsible ruler is likely to be tyrannical. A perfect ruler might be irresponsible and not tyrannical.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- unreliable Your only source of income has become unreliable.
- unaccountable Your movements were unaccountable.
- feckless She discombobulated me with her feckless laughter.
- lawless He has gathered an army of lawless criminals.
- carefree Someone who is carefree easily changes their tune.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| irresponsible | falling | |
| unreliable | steady | |
| unaccountable | rising | |
| feckless | rising | |
| lawless | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- exempt2
- 7 letters
- lawless2
- 8 letters
- carefree2, feckless2
- 10 letters
- unreliable5
- 12 letters
- unanswerable5
- 13 letters
- unaccountable5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (exempt2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- irresponsable
- Italiano
- irresponsabile
- Español
- irresponsable
- Deutsch
- unzurechnungsfähig