harum-scarum

American  

[hair-uhm-skair-uhm, har-uhm-skar-uhm] / ˈhɛər əmˈskɛər əm, ˈhær əmˈskær əm /

adjective

1. reckless; rash; irresponsible.

   He had a harum-scarum youth.

   Synonyms:

   scatterbrained, giddy, impetuous, impulsive, erratic

2. disorganized; uncontrolled.

   Synonyms:

   scatterbrained, giddy, impetuous, impulsive, erratic

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adverb

1. recklessly; wildly.

   He ran harum-scarum all over the place.

noun

1. a reckless person.

2. reckless or unpredictable behavior or action.

harum-scarum British  

/ ˈhɛərəmˈskɛərəm /

adjective

1. in a reckless way or of a reckless nature

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noun

1. a person who is impetuous or rash

Other Word Forms

• harum-scarumness noun

Etymology

Origin of harum-scarum

1665–75; earlier harum-starum rhyming compound based on obsolete hare to harass + stare

Example Sentences

Fred is a harum-scarum kind of player, someone who, to the untrained observer, tends to dash about with no obvious purpose.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2021

Of Custer, killed two years later at the Little Bighorn, Grinnell would write that he “knew nothing about Indians and was anyhow a harum-scarum fellow.”

From New York Times • Jul. 24, 2019

In the harum-scarum batting has been beautiful strokeplay, the off-drives of Bell and the clips through leg of Root, the innovation and aggression of Warner and the counter-attacking flays of Moeen Ali.

From BBC • Jul. 30, 2015

That made for harum-scarum early fare in which the Lions held their own with the Premier League team.

From The Guardian • Jan. 25, 2013

A body of knights would pick sides, so that there were twenty or thirty on either side, and then they would rush together harum-scarum.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White