insouciance
noun (insouciant - adjective) (insouciantly - adverb)

- a relaxed and happy way of acting without worry or guilt

The Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

“Insouciance” stems from the French insouciant (in = not + se soucier = to care or worry) and from the Latin solicitare “to agitate”.

Insouciance describes a light-hearted, carefree attitude, something not usually associated with serious personalities. But even the most earnest people, such as the Winston Churchill, have their moments of insouciance (see story below).

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INSOUCIANT CHURCHILL

During one of Churchill’s overnight stays at the White House, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt unexpectedly opened the door to his guest’s bedroom and found one of the 20th century’s most important statesmen standing in the middle of the room completely naked.

Unconcerned and apparently unembarrassed, Churchill calmly said,

“You see Mr. President, we British have nothing to hide.”

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SYNONYMS

- carelessness, heedlessness, indifference, or casual unconcern

absence of feeling, acceptance of the inevitable, aloofness, apathy towards, aplomb, blitheness, breeziness, brown study, carefreeness, casualness, complacence, complacency, composedness, composure, cool-headedness, diffidence, easy-going attitude, equanimity, impassiveness, impassivity, imperturbability, indifference (to), INSOUCIANCE, lack of concern, languidness, languor, leisureliness, level-headedness, loftiness, nonchalance, philosophicalness, placidity, placidness, poise, presence of mind, sangfroid, self-assurance, self-composedness, self-possession, serenity, tranquillity, unconcern (about), unflappability, waters of Lethe

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Even the great Winston Churchill had moments of INSOUCIANCE, guess what happened one night while Churchill was staying at the White House….”

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