Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Heedless or careless.
- adj. Headstrong; rash.
- adj. Indifferent to or disregardful of consequences: a reckless driver.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Not recking; careless; heedless; inattentive: in a mild sense.
- Not recking of consequences; desperately heedless, as from folly, passion, or perversity; impetuously or rashly adventurous.
- Synonyms Enterprising, Rash, etc. (see adventurous), incautious, unwary, unconcerned, indifferent, thoughtless. See list under rash.
Wiktionary
- adj. Careless or heedless; headstrong or rash.
- adj. Indifferent to danger or the consequences.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Inattentive to duty; careless; neglectful; indifferent.
- adj. Rashly negligent; utterly careless or heedless.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences
- adj. characterized by careless unconcern
Etymologies
- From Middle English rekles, reckeles, from Old English rēcelēas ("reckless, careless, negligent"), equivalent to reck + -less. Cognate with Dutch roekeloos ("reckless"), German ruchlos ("careless, notorious"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English reckeles, from Old English rēcelēas; see reg- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Other motorcyclists, more assertive and impatient the word reckless came to mind, began snaking their way in the narrow space between lanes of stopped traffic, as is common here.”
“The fracas has put WikiLeaks in the position of decrying what it called the "reckless" and "negligent" disclosure of information—something WikiLeaks' critics have long accused it of doing itself.”
“He said the sanctions risked engulfing the Horn of Africa in another cycle of conflict as it might encourage Ethiopia to contemplate what he called "reckless military adventures.”
Voice of America: Ethiopia Advocates Overthrow of Eritrean Government
“Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer and Michigan Republican Dave Camp both used the word "reckless" to drive home their opposing points.”
Voice of America: US Congressional Vote on Debt Issue Delayed
“Rep. John Kline R., Minn., chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, urged the board to scrap what he called a reckless and job-destroying agenda.”
“South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik has urged North Korea to work for peace on the Korean peninsula and stop what he called "reckless military provocation".”
Voice of America: South Korea Marks 61st Anniversary of Start of Korean War
“In a speech at Wall Street's Federal Hall in September of 2009, Obama warned the bankers that Washington was preparing to step in to stop what he called the reckless behavior that led to the economic crisis.”
The Washington Post: Obama speech will castigate some of his biggest financial backers
“DOUGHERTY: Despite what it calls reckless behavior by North Korea, the Obama administration is sticking to patient diplomacy, hoping a united front with North Korea's neighbors, China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, could bring the North back to the negotiating table.”
“This, as lawmakers in both parties have been hearing outrage about the billions in taxpayer dollars that are still being spent to bail out big companies, what they call reckless companies, like AIG.”
“The president also promised more reforms to come, as his administration tries to crack down on what they refer to as a reckless culture.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘reckless’.
-
POL - scandalous (single words only)
acolyte, archrival, backhander, backlash, baksheesh, bashing, boo, bribery, cadre, chicanery, clash, coercion and 256 more...
-
hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 318 more...
-
AFET - diplomacy
broker a peace ac..., client state, deadlocked peace ..., embassy, freeze, goodwill ambassador, hinterland, interfere in dome..., intervene personally, maintain technica..., mediation, no business as usual and 670 more...
-
Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
-
POL - scandalous (words and collocati...
Words and collocations associated with political scandal
blow the whistle, boo, cronyism and rigging, democratic deficit, denigrate, dirty linen, fiasco, finger pointing a..., graft, hidden account, hush money, illicit financing... and 578 more...
-
gangster
random gangster lingo and street slang with extra absurdities.
( open list, randomness )
related:
http://www....swagga, chinga, slams, blitzy, earf, manor, code name, rekkid, weight, feather, kong, swisher and 323 more...
-
Yazhinni Spelling bee
tongue, stallion, scruple, salinity, schedule, rouge, populist, Permian, perspire, pasteurize, multitude, mournful and 227 more...
-
GRE
predilection, explicit, appeal, supplication, appealing, enchanting, ovation, pertinent, apropos, opportunely, applicable, germane and 381 more...
-
-more or -less
Words ending with *more or *less, more or less. Many of theses terms also appear on the list The -less Said, which see.
schemaless, jobless, endless, useless, unless, guileless, wireless, regardless, homeless, nevertheless, countless, doubtless and 434 more...
-
I am : brave
brave, bold, courageous, audacious, doughty, chivalrous, gallant, gutsy, gumption, plucky, spunky, nerve and 12 more...
-
big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
-
Be drivers
pile driver, chicane, truck driver, carpool driver, system software d..., Tampopo, telltale, stirling moss, selfish gene, rubberneck, mint, slalom and 9 more...
-
strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
-
fifi
verbs Adj Adv noun
indulge, convene, solve, dissolve, prospect, prospective, allege, resolve, accountable, administration, amid, agenda and 407 more...
-
words
pointingstock, kibosh, turnspit, ant-bear, earthborn, pitter, infold, hayseed, stoker, prismatic, backcross, blizzard and 96 more...
-
zzyyxx's Words
plethora, drout, functional, rye, wring, doubt, cognative, weird, gnaw, surcease, rend, languish and 438 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for reckless.

aykutkaraalioglu opposite of calculated Jul 20, 2012
yarb Cool. Thanks cb. Nov 24, 2007
chained_bear From Online Etymology: O.E. receleas "careless, thoughtless, heedless," earlier reccileas, from -leas "-less" + *rece, recce "care, heed," from reccan "to care," from W.Gmc. *rokijanan (cf. O.N. rækja "to care for," O.H.G. giruochan "to care for, have regard to," Ger. geruhen "to deign," which is infl. by ruhen "to rest"). No known cognates outside Gmc. The same affixed form is in Ger. ruchlos, Du. roekeloos "wicked." Root verb reck (O.E. reccan) is passing into obscurity. The -k- sound is probably a northern influence from O.N. cognate roekja.
Don't know what half of that means, but the other half is pretty interesting. :) Nov 24, 2007
yarb What is the reck in this word? Is it like recognition, or reckoning? Is it a fossil noun meaning caution? Nov 24, 2007