madcap

[ mad-kap ]

/ ˈmædˌkæp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR madcap ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

wildly or heedlessly impulsive; reckless; rash: a madcap scheme.

noun

a madcap person.

Nearby words

Origin of madcap

First recorded in 1580–90; mad + cap¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for madcap

And it was as madcap, sharp, and romantic as the series was when it left off in May.
Imagine Andy Samberg as Your Best Man|Kevin Fallon|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Poehler is, and has been throughout the run of her show, just as good: just as silly, just as madcap, just as witty.
What's TV's Funniest Show? Our Emmy Awards Comedy Predictions|Kevin Fallon|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This was a madcap game, the ball hurtling from end to end, chased by tired legs of every hue.
Stars and Stripes 2, Black Stars 1: Team USA Takes a Win From Ghana|Tunku Varadarajan|June 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But for all its madcap zaniness, Woke Up Lonely easily refutes the idea that the novel is a staid, obsolete form of writing.
What a Real Cult Novel Looks Like|Drew Toal|April 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST

But the extent of the madcap goofiness in the helicopter ride is too much for some 007 diehards.
Best James Bond Opening Sequences: ‘Goldeneye’ & More (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|October 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Guida used Ranulph's name for Carterette, knowing that it would change the madcap's mood.
The Battle Of The Strong, Complete|Gilbert Parker
The madcap had become wise, only retaining of his youthful follies the audacity which is needful for successful enterprise.
Fruitfulness|Emile Zola
Shakespeare, of course, and his freres, knew him to be a merry fellow—quite a madcap—and so do now all the Lakers.
Recreations of Christopher North, Volume 2|John Wilson
It is not nearly so cold now that brother north-easter has yielded to his madcap brother from the south!
The Laughing Cavalier|Baroness Orczy
With madcap audacity it seeks to install this Barbarism as the truest Civilization.
Charles Sumner; his complete works, volume 9 (of 20)|Charles Sumner

British Dictionary definitions for madcap

madcap

/ (ˈmædˌkæp) /

adjective

impulsive, reckless, or lively

noun

an impulsive, reckless, or lively person

Word Origin for madcap

C16: from mad + cap (in the figurative sense: head)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for madcap

madcap

1580s, noun and adjective, from mad (adj.) + cap, used here figuratively for "head." Related: Madcappery.

madcap

adjective

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of madcap

Examples from the Web for madcap

madcap

adjective

noun

Word Origin for madcap

madcap