haphazard

1 of 2

adjective

hap·​haz·​ard (ˌ)hap-ˈha-zərd 

: marked by lack of plan, order, or direction

a haphazard assemblage of furniture

not … a collection of haphazard schemes, but rather the orderly component parts of a connected and logical whole

—F. D. Roosevelt

haphazard adverb

haphazardly adverb

haphazardness noun

haphazardry

(ˌ)hap-ˈha-zər-drē 

noun

haphazard

2 of 2

noun

: chance sense 1

this little remnant preserved by the haphazard of chance

—Edith Hamilton

take our principles at haphazard

—John Locke

Did you know?

The hap in haphazard comes from an English word that means "happening," as well as "chance or fortune." Hap, in turn, comes from the Old Norse word happ, meaning "good luck." Perhaps it's no accident that hazard also has its own connotations of chance and luck: while it now refers commonly to something that presents danger, at one time it referred to a dice game similar to craps. (The name ultimately comes from the Arabic word al-zahr, meaning "the die.") Haphazard first entered English as a noun meaning "chance" in the 16th century, and soon afterward was being used as an adjective to describe things with no apparent logic or order.

Synonyms

Adjective

• aimless
• arbitrary
• catch-as-catch-can
• desultory
• erratic
• helter-skelter
• hit-or-miss
• random
• scattered
• slapdash
• stray

Choose the Right Synonym for haphazard

random, haphazard, casual mean determined by accident rather than design.

random stresses lack of definite aim, fixed goal, or regular procedure.

a random selection of books

haphazard applies to what is done without regard for regularity or fitness or ultimate consequence.

a haphazard collection of rocks

casual suggests working or acting without deliberation, intention, or purpose.

a casual collector

Examples of haphazard in a Sentence

Adjective

We were given a haphazard tour of the city.

considering the haphazard way you measured the ingredients, it's a wonder the cookies came out this good

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Additionally, as this week’s stock market slump revealed, haphazard threats do not happen in a vacuum. —Aroop Mukharji, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2025

In lieu of federal regulation, there was a haphazard patchwork of state and local laws surrounding certain foods pre-1906. —Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 1 May 2025

Others may be haphazard power grabs, or may amount to something more. —Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025

The public, too, could become less tolerant of state action as DOGE’s drive to move fast yields haphazard mistakes. —Brian Deese, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

hap entry 1 + hazard

First Known Use

Adjective

1576, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1569, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for haphazard

• hazard

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Kids Definition

haphazard

adjective

hap·​haz·​ard

(ˈ)hap-ˈhaz-ərd

: marked by lack of plan, order, or direction

haphazard adverb

haphazardly adverb

haphazardness noun