harum-scarum

[ hair-uhm-skair-uhm, har-uhm-skar-uhm ]

adjective

1. reckless; rash; irresponsible:

   He had a harum-scarum youth.

   Synonyms: scatterbrained, giddy, impetuous, impulsive, erratic

2. disorganized; uncontrolled.

   Synonyms: scatterbrained, giddy, impetuous, impulsive, erratic

adverb

1. recklessly; wildly:

   He ran harum-scarum all over the place.

noun

1. a reckless person.
2. reckless or unpredictable behavior or action.

harum-scarum

/ ˈhɛərəmˈskɛərəm /

adjective

1. in a reckless way or of a reckless nature

noun

1. a person who is impetuous or rash

Other Words From

• harum-scarum·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of harum-scarum¹

1665–75; earlier harum-starum rhyming compound based on obsolete hare to harass + stare

Word History and Origins

Origin of harum-scarum¹

C17: perhaps from hare (in obsolete sense: harass) + scare, variant of stare ¹; compare helter-skelter

Example Sentences

Fred is a harum-scarum kind of player, someone who, to the untrained observer, tends to dash about with no obvious purpose.

From BBC

This was the sort of harum-scarum and feisty affair that would have had Villa park heaving if fans had been present.

From The Guardian

There’s going to be some harum-scarum riding out there, one imagines.

From The Guardian

Until Mané’s beautiful, caressed finish, it was a harum-scarum first half that provided painful viewing for Klopp, powerless as his players huffed and puffed, their overcooked and wonky passes bobbling out of touch.

From The Guardian

Of Custer, killed two years later at the Little Bighorn, Grinnell would write that he “knew nothing about Indians and was anyhow a harum-scarum fellow.”

From New York Times