harebrained

American  

[hair-breynd] / ˈhɛərˌbreɪnd /

Or hairbrained

adjective

1. giddy; reckless.

   Synonyms:

   dimwitted, half-baked, scatterbrained, rattlebrained

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harebrained British  

/ ˈhɛəˌbreɪnd /

adjective

1. rash, foolish, or badly thought out

   harebrained schemes

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Other Word Forms

• harebrainedly adverb
• harebrainedness noun

Etymology

Origin of harebrained

First recorded in 1545–55; hare + brained

Explanation

Something that's harebrained is reckless or foolish. Sometimes, harebrained ideas work out just fine — several people have survived trips over Niagara Falls in a barrel, for example. If you have what you think is a great idea, but someone else calls it a harebrained scheme, it means they think you'd be a fool to try it. For example, your harebrained plan to ride your bike on the highway is bound to get you in trouble. The 16th century harebrained came from the earlier harebrain, "giddy or reckless person," from the common impression of a rabbit or a hare as being nervous and skittish.

Example Sentences

Santos clearly has an appetite for harebrained petty scams, which is exactly what has done him in on the national level.

From Slate • Nov. 16, 2023

The worst that could happen is people like Musk have less money to invest in harebrained schemes like "ChatGPT, but more racist."

From Salon • Jul. 17, 2023

As if amid some harebrained sitcom, the following two guys wound up rooming together as basketball teammates: a 17-year-old about to turn 18 and a 26-year-old about to turn 27.

From Washington Post • Mar. 30, 2023

But her mission is, admittedly, rather harebrained — in contrast to the seemingly circumspect Claire’s general demeanor.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2023

The idea made me think that perhaps I shouldn’t have pointed that out to her—getting a cop’s attention would definitely bring their harebrained trip into Mexico to a standstill.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall