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

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson acknowledged Tuesday that the federal immigration-enforcement efforts could run headlong into the Chicago marathon, which is expected to bring more than 53,000 runners to the city this weekend.

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France isn’t sleepwalking toward a fiscal and economic crisis so much as running headlong into one.

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“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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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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Related Words

• breakneck 
• hurried 
• sudden