rash
1 Americanadjective
-
acting or tending to act too hastily or without due consideration.
- Synonyms:
- foolhardy , indiscreet , precipitate , incautious , venturous , reckless , impetuous , hasty
- Antonyms:
- cautious
-
characterized by or showing too great haste or lack of consideration.
rash promises.
noun
-
an eruption or efflorescence on the skin.
-
a multitude of instances of something occurring more or less during the same period of time.
a rash of robberies last month.
adjective
-
acting without due consideration or thought; impetuous
-
characterized by or resulting from excessive haste or impetuosity
a rash word
noun
-
pathol any skin eruption
-
a series of unpleasant and unexpected occurrences
a rash of forest fires
Usage
What does rash mean? Rash describes acting too quickly and without proper planning, as in James was rash when he decided to quit his job after just one hard day.Rash also describes a great haste or a lack of consideration, such as Sahad avoided making rash decisions by doing a lot of research first. A rash is a skin condition, such as bumps or a red area, like you might get if you touch poison ivy.A rash is also several instances of something that occur at the same or nearly the same time, such as a rash of snowstorms over a week or a rash of electronic sales during the winter holidays.Example: He always jumps head first into rash decisions, but sometimes it works out.
Other Word Forms
- rashlike adjective
- rashly adverb
- rashness noun
Etymology
Origin of rash1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; cognate with Dutch, German rasch “quick, brisk,” Old Norse rǫskr “brave”
Origin of rash2
1700–10; < French rache (obsolete), Old French rasche skin eruption, derivative of raschier to scratch, ultimately < Latin rādere to scratch
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.
In one, a child smeared 14 different products on her face before developing a burning rash.
From Barron's
And Chloe Long - deputy director general at the Anti-Counterfeiting Group - warns fake kits could even cause those wearing them to come out in a rash.
From BBC
Early symptoms include a rash, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache and fever, but can often be overlooked or misinterpreted.
Fatigue, joint pain, rashes, brain fog or tingling in the hands and feet can seem like normal signs of aging—but they may also point to an autoimmune disease.
It wasn’t an injury or an uncontrollable act that doomed them this time, but rather a rash of discipline errors that came at the worst possible time.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
