as in reckless
having or showing a lack of concern for the consequences of one's actions
a harum-scarum dash through the crowded terminal to make the flight
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in frantically
in a confused and reckless manner
tossed everything harum-scarum from the closet in a desperate attempt to find her shoes
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harum-scarum
Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 4 May 2025
Adjective
Years of harum-scarum borrowing and spending combined with economic wallops from the Covid-19 pandemic, soaring interest rates and inflation helped drive up Kenya’s debt to $80 billion.
—Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 4 May 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harum-scarum
Adjective
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The charges of reckless endangerment of children are because Reed is accused of firing a gun in a parking lot where children were present, North Richland Hills police spokesperson Carissa Katekaru said.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Sep. 2025
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Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur, in contrast, cut one of the most open — stroke reckless — teams the Premier League has encountered, with different intensity levels entirely, shown above.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Footage from the rescue mission shared by Michigan State Police on X shows the woman frantically waving towards the helicopter above her while lost amongst the trees.—
Latoya Gayle,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
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Dexter begins frantically searching the paperwork for something that could point him toward the eight-digit vault code that could grant him freedom.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Rounded plastic equipment prevents potential scraps and presumably is meant to prevent daredevil kids from climbing on top of slide tunnels or jungle gym towers.—
Carrie Lukas,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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When Francis Ford Coppola finally went into production on Megalopolis, the project carried the weight of decades of anticipation and the air of a high-wire act undertaken by a beloved, daredevil octogenarian.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Our first stop is in a wild-looking stretch 200 yards south of the railroad tracks and State Street.—
Paul A. Smith,
Journal Sentinel,
2 Jan. 2023
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Just 18 P900s will be built, and the wild-looking hypercar will cost $3 million.—
Caleb Miller,
Car and Driver,
30 Nov. 2022
Adjective
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More daring vacationers can rent kayaks or hop on a whale-watching excursion, Sunset said.—
Hannah Poukish,
Sacbee.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Glass has become fundamentally linked with Apple’s products and architecture, including its flagship stores’ expensive and daring experiments in architectural uses of glass.—
Aki Ishida,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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On the ground in Wedgewood Houston, a tiny bird fought an army of enclosing fire ants, wildly kicking and flailing.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
9 Sep. 2025
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Atom’s order to alter Nibs’ memory seems wildly shortsighted, if the plan was to keep her around the other hybrids.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harum-scarum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harum-scarum. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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