headlong

[hed-lawng, -long]

adverb

1. with the head foremost; headfirst.

   to plunge headlong into the water.

2. without delay; hastily.

   to plunge headlong into work.

3. without deliberation; rashly.

   to rush headlong into battle.

adjective

1. undertaken quickly and suddenly; made precipitately; hasty.

   a headlong flight.

2. rash; impetuous.

   a headlong denunciation.

3. done or going with the head foremost.

   a headlong dive into the pool.

headlong

/ ˈhɛdˌlɒŋ /

adverb

1. with the head foremost; headfirst

2. with great haste

adjective

1. archaic,  (of slopes, etc) very steep; precipitous

Other Word Forms

• headlongness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of headlong¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English hedlong, earlier hedling; head, -ling ²

Example Sentences

“I think I have the philosophy that if you just run as fast as you can headlong into the future, maybe you don’t have to turn around and look behind you,” Anderson says.

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For those who wish to find a political reading in the movie, it’s there for them, a parable about migration and fascism but also the euphoria of a headlong rush into the unknown.

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No matter how chaotic my history, I can learn how to safeguard my serenity so I don’t have to drag people into my drama anymore or leap headlong into theirs.

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A classroom of third graders has vanished in the middle of the night, each child running headlong into the shadows with their limbs outstretched like paper planes.

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Her efforts ran headlong into what would become the worst drug shortage in modern history.

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Related Words

• breakneck 
• hurried 
• sudden