insouciance
noun
aⁿ-süs-ˈyäⁿs
Did you know?
If you were alive and of whistling age in the late 1980s or early 1990s, chances are you whistled (and snapped your fingers, and tapped your toes) to a little ditty called “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin, an a cappella reggae-jazz-pop tune that took the charts by surprise and by storm. An ode to cheerful insouciance if ever there was one, its lyrics are entirely concerned with being entirely unconcerned, remaining trouble-free in the face of life’s various stressors and calamities. Such carefree nonchalance is at the heart of insouciance, which arrived in English (along with the adjective insouciant), from French, in the 1800s. The French word comes from a combining of the negative prefix in- with the verb soucier, meaning “to trouble or disturb.” The easiness and breeziness of insouciance isn’t always considered beautiful, however. Insouciance may also be used when someone’s lack of concern for serious matters is seen as more careless than carefree.
Examples of insouciance in a Sentence
Foreign Affairs, 14 Jan. 2025
To complement these ladies navigating a sea of business attire by sexing it up with insouciance (as well as micro hemlines and plenty of sheer) were her male coworkers who dabbled in a bit of New Romantic touches.
—Roxanne Robinson, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
The theme’s implicit insouciance becomes perplexing when accompanied by scientific studies and even a World Health Organization report touting the healing properties of art.
—Michaëla De Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025
The victory over Leylah Fernandez on Arthur Ashe was beautiful for its innocence and insouciance.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for insouciance
Cite this Entry
“Insouciance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insouciance. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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