1
as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity
the movie follows the harebrained antics of a pair of stoners who seem incapable of growing up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a harebrained idea to go for a hike in an area where grizzly bear attacks had recently been reported
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harebrained
When his harebrained money-laundering scheme loses millions of the cartel’s cash, Hanson is caught in a web of dangerous debt, absurd criminal mishap and a huge FBI takedown.
—
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025
Reggie’s resolve to fight against the rising tide inspires him to embark upon a harebrained scheme that involves con artistry and theatrical promotion.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025
Here are some methods for scraping good music from the data wasteland, organized in a hierarchy from bottom-feeder basics to more sophisticated and ultimately, uhh, harebrained strategies.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 31 July 2025
More harebrained projects follow, and the family’s tilting house finally tumbles after neighbors and acquaintances slowly chip away at the building to repurpose many of the structure’s materials.
—Anita Snow, Boston Herald, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for harebrained
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2025
Reggie’s resolve to fight against the rising tide inspires him to embark upon a harebrained scheme that involves con artistry and theatrical promotion.
—Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025
Here are some methods for scraping good music from the data wasteland, organized in a hierarchy from bottom-feeder basics to more sophisticated and ultimately, uhh, harebrained strategies.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 31 July 2025
More harebrained projects follow, and the family’s tilting house finally tumbles after neighbors and acquaintances slowly chip away at the building to repurpose many of the structure’s materials.
—Anita Snow, Boston Herald, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for harebrained
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harebrained
Adjective
-
All well and good—even if the log-line here may remind some of you of this goofy scene from the Sex and the City movie.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
28 May 2026
-
Scott fares much, much better, grounding the movie’s goofier dialogue in broadly credible conviction.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
It’s presented without winks or nudges, neither as a joke nor necessarily foolish.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
-
If the target was foolish enough to reuse passwords, credential thefts like these could enable the compromise of more important accounts.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Through the fuzz and the bad camera angles emerges an extraordinary catalogue of dummies, flicks, and feints, a hodge-podge of silly tricks.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
To lose that would be silly now.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Fans wear their favorite players’ name, beg for their autograph and spend stupid amounts of money just to be in their proximity.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
9 June 2026
-
Not every bee was successful, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s such a thing as a stupid bumblebee, Loukola says.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
That was an appropriate response by Rockies fans when the Rockies mercifully moved on from futile general manager Bill Geivett and insufferable team president Greg Feasel.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
7 June 2026
-
Any attempt to pin down the greatest men’s footballer is therefore futile at best and highly subjective at worst.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
There is always the possibility that something absurd might occur — the equivalent of Neymar’s 2017 move to Paris Saint-Germain, for instance — but that’s extremely unlikely.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
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Ironically, the fears of two Republicans advancing were driven by Democratic data vendor Paul Mitchell, who built a prediction machine using absurd inputs like betting odds and polls that cannot account for things like rape allegations.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
There was nothing giddy about Doctors of Philosophy’s reviews, though.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
Tomás drinks from the pool and is struck with an anti-colonialist revelation that sends him into a giddy frenzy.—
Rachel Vorona Cote,
Vulture,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
Rivians aren’t alone in the realm of insane reports of repair costs.—
Joel Feder,
The Drive,
11 June 2026
-
The whole thing is kind of insane.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
10 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harebrained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harebrained. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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