foolhardy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- foolhardily adverb
- foolhardiness noun
Etymology
Origin of foolhardy
1175–1225; Middle English folhardy < Old French fol hardi. See fool 1, hardy 1
Explanation
If you decide you are going to scale Mt. Everest next weekend without any training or experience, that would be a foolhardy decision. Use the adjective foolhardy to describe someone who rushes into action without considering the consequences. Foolhardy is a combination of the noun fool and the adjective hardy, meaning "brave" or "bold." Put them together and you’ve got “foolishly brave.” Someone who is foolhardy throws caution to the wind and takes reckless chances. A foolhardy mistake is typically the result of this kind of impulsive behavior. But foolhardy doesn’t always imply foolishness or stupidity; foolhardy can convey courage and romance, as in the case of a foolhardy passion or desire.
Vocabulary lists containing foolhardy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sir Keir added, in an interview with me, that "it would be foolhardy to simply say we would ignore" China.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026
Netflix is so dominant that it seems foolhardy not to bet on its continued success at this point.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits after Thanksgiving jumped to a three-month high, but it’s foolhardy to judge the overall health of the labor market on holiday seasons.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025
When Newby announced that he was running for a seat on North Carolina’s Supreme Court in the 2004 election, it seemed like a foolhardy choice.
From Salon • Oct. 31, 2025
The thing was smaller than I—but wasn’t I being a foolhardy Goliath here?
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
