irresponsible
1 of 2adjective
ir·re·spon·si·ble ˌir-i-ˈspän(t)-sə-bəl 
: not responsible: such as
a
: lacking a sense of responsibility
b
: said or done with no sense of responsibility
irresponsible accusations
c
: unable especially mentally or financially to bear responsibility
d
: not answerable to higher authority
an irresponsible dictatorship
irresponsibility
ˌir-i-ˌspän(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē
noun irresponsibleness
ˌir-i-ˈspän(t)-sə-bəl-nəs
noun irresponsibly
ˌir-i-ˈspän(t)-sə-blē
adverb irresponsible
2 of 2noun
: a person who is irresponsible
Synonyms
Adjective
- daredevil
- devil-may-care
- foolhardy
- harum-scarum
- hell-for-leather
- kamikaze
- reckless
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective He's too irresponsible to keep a job for more than a week. She made irresponsible comments that helped cause the riot. It would be irresponsible to ignore the threats.
Recent Examples on the Web
Isabella Murray, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2022 To use real-life examples and expose those examples to generations of new employees—that just strikes me as being irresponsible. Alexandra S. Levine, Forbes, 4 Aug. 2022 The German vulnerability turned the tables on an old European script; in previous financial crises, the Germans pointed the finger at weaker countries, especially in the continent’s south, for being irresponsible. New York Times, 26 July 2022 Using the money for immediate tax relief instead of paying down Connecticut’s unfunded pension debt is not irresponsible, Stefanowski said. Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 16 July 2022 To pretend that's not happening is irresponsible in its own way. Owen Myers, EW.com, 30 June 2022 Regulators must ask if dragging Spirit into JetBlue's business model is illogical, irresponsible, and unfair to its customers. John Samuelsen, Fortune, 29 June 2022 The threat is gun idolatry, a form of gun fetish that’s fundamentally aggressive, grotesquely irresponsible, and potentially destabilizing to American democracy. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 6 June 2022 How there can’t be a bipartisan consensus on an issue like this is very disheartening, very irresponsible by our leaders. Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 25 May 2022 See More
Adjective
Republicans have bashed the proposal, saying that any tax increases or spending package while the nation is falling into an economic recession is irresponsible. Isabella Murray, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2022 To use real-life examples and expose those examples to generations of new employees—that just strikes me as being irresponsible. Alexandra S. Levine, Forbes, 4 Aug. 2022 The German vulnerability turned the tables on an old European script; in previous financial crises, the Germans pointed the finger at weaker countries, especially in the continent’s south, for being irresponsible. New York Times, 26 July 2022 Using the money for immediate tax relief instead of paying down Connecticut’s unfunded pension debt is not irresponsible, Stefanowski said. Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 16 July 2022 To pretend that's not happening is irresponsible in its own way. Owen Myers, EW.com, 30 June 2022 Regulators must ask if dragging Spirit into JetBlue's business model is illogical, irresponsible, and unfair to its customers. John Samuelsen, Fortune, 29 June 2022 The threat is gun idolatry, a form of gun fetish that’s fundamentally aggressive, grotesquely irresponsible, and potentially destabilizing to American democracy. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 6 June 2022 How there can’t be a bipartisan consensus on an issue like this is very disheartening, very irresponsible by our leaders. Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 25 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
1648, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1892, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
irresponsible
adjective
ir·re·spon·si·ble ˌir-i-ˈspän-sə-bəl
: having or showing little or no sense of responsibility
You're too irresponsible for a pet.
Medical Definition
irresponsible
adjective
ir·re·spon·si·ble ˌir-i-ˈspän(t)-sə-bəl
: not responsible : mentally inadequate to bear responsibility
irresponsibleness
noun
as in malfeasance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- malfeasance
- malpractice
- misconduct
- irresponsibility
- carelessness
- negligence
- incaution
- incautiousness
- delinquency
- recklessness
- heedlessness
- laxness
- remissness
- neglectfulness
- foolhardiness
- wildness
- neglect
- slackness
- omission
- mismanagement
- mishandling
- rashness
- inattention
- misdirection
- forgetfulness
- inattentiveness
- unwariness
- dereliction
- shortsightedness
- inadvertence
- inadvertency
- obliviousness
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- awareness
- attention
- attentiveness
- alertness
- responsibility
- vigilance
- observance
- watchfulness
- circumspection
- care
- responsibleness
- caution
- carefulness
- cautiousness
- heedfulness