rash

¹

[rash]

adjective

rasher, rashest 

1. acting or tending to act too hastily or without due consideration.

   Synonyms: foolhardy, indiscreet, precipitate, incautious, venturous, reckless, impetuous, hasty
   Antonyms: cautious

2. characterized by or showing too great haste or lack of consideration.

   rash promises.

rash

²

[rash]

noun

1. an eruption or efflorescence on the skin.

2. a multitude of instances of something occurring more or less during the same period of time.

   a rash of robberies last month.

rash

¹

/ ræʃ /

adjective

1. acting without due consideration or thought; impetuous

2. characterized by or resulting from excessive haste or impetuosity

   a rash word

rash

²

/ ræʃ /

noun

1. pathol any skin eruption

2. a series of unpleasant and unexpected occurrences

   a rash of forest fires

Other Word Forms

• rashly adverb
• rashness noun
• rashlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rash¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; cognate with Dutch, German rasch “quick, brisk,” Old Norse rǫskr “brave”

Origin of rash²

1700–10; < French rache (obsolete), Old French rasche skin eruption, derivative of raschier to scratch, ultimately < Latin rādere to scratch

Word History and Origins

Origin of rash¹

C14: from Old High German rasc hurried, clever; related to Old Norse roskr brave

Origin of rash²

C18: from Old French rasche , from raschier to scratch, from Latin rādere to scrape

Related Words

• audacious 
• bold 
• daring 
• foolhardy 
• hasty 
• ill-advised 
• ill-considered 
• immature 
• impetuous 
• imprudent 
• indiscreet 
• irrational 
• reckless 
• thoughtless 

When To Use

What does rash mean?

Rash describes acting too quickly and without proper planning, as in James was rash when he decided to quit his job after just one hard day.Rash also describes a great haste or a lack of consideration, such as Sahad avoided making rash decisions by doing a lot of research first. A rash is a skin condition, such as bumps or a red area, like you might get if you touch poison ivy.A rash is also several instances of something that occur at the same or nearly the same time, such as a rash of snowstorms over a week or a rash of electronic sales during the winter holidays.Example: He always jumps head first into rash decisions, but sometimes it works out.