inconsiderate

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin incōnsīderātus (“unadvised, thoughtless”),^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} formed from in- (“not”) and cōnsīderātus (“considered, considerate”),^[2][3][8] the past participle of cōnsīderō (“to consider”).^[3][5] Etymonline gives the Latin senses "headstrong, unadvised" and, of persons, "thoughtless".^[4] Barnhart instead takes it as formed in English from the negative prefix and considerate, possibly after the Latin word,^[9] and Johnson also cited French inconsidéré.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of things or actions, not properly considered; thoughtless or rash: about 1460, in John Fortescue's Governance of England.^[2][8] The Middle English Dictionary's first quotation is from the play Mankind (about 1475), which asks "Why art þou so on-curtess, so inconsyderatt?"^[7] Barnhart dates the word to about 1475.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The word first described actions or decisions made without due thought, and then people who acted without deliberation, a use recorded in Shakespeare's King John (before 1616).^[2] In the 17th century it could also mean careless of something (1607–1670) and, by confusion with inconsiderable, unimportant or trifling (1655–1700).^[2][11] Johnson (1755) gave two senses, "careless; thoughtless; negligent" and "wanting due regard".^[10] The modern main sense, without regard for the feelings or interests of others, is recorded only from 1842.^[2][4] Collins labels the older sense, insufficiently considered, as rare.^[12] The noun, an inconsiderate person, goes back to Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost (1598).^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1460 – of actions, not properly considered; rash.^[2]
• 1598 – noun, a thoughtless person.^[2]
• 1607 – careless of something (obsolete by 1670).^[2]
• before 1616 – of persons, acting without deliberation; imprudent.^[2]
• 1655 – unimportant, trifling (obsolete by 1700).^[2]
• 1842 – without regard for the feelings or rights of others.^[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not thinking about the feelings, rights or comfort of others; thoughtless or selfish: It was inconsiderate of them to play music so late.^[12][5][2]
2. (rare) Not carefully thought out; rash or ill-advised.^[12][5][2]
3. (obsolete, 1655–1700) Of little importance; inconsiderable.^[2][11]

Noun

1. An inconsiderate person.^[5][2]

Word family

• inconsiderately
• inconsiderateness
• inconsideration

Related words

• considerate
• consider
• inconsiderable

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
10. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins