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Synonyms

foolhardy

American  
[fool-hahr-dee] / ˈfulˌhɑr di /

adjective

foolhardier, foolhardiest

  1. recklessly or thoughtlessly bold; foolishly rash or venturesome.

    Synonyms:
    incautious, heedless, headlong, impetuous
foolhardy British  
/ ˈfuːlˌhɑːdɪ /

adjective

  1. heedlessly rash or adventurous

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

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.

So they’ve been trying to talk their leaders out of this foolhardy mission.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 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

Or foolhardy when this is a moment when she ought to be mustering as much authority as she can?

From BBC • Oct. 4, 2025

He was afraid, but Tam Lin had taught him it was foolhardy to show weakness.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

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.