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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Critics lambasted those policies as impractical at best, reckless at worst.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
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These reckless policies have deadly consequences.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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The phone logs show Goudreau frantically trying to get Denman and Berry out safely.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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When Marissa runs through her house, frantically searching for Milo, the scene doubles as a tour of the Irvines’ palatial lakefront home as captured by directors Minkie Spiro and Kate Dennis.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Nixon has built a reputation on social media for being a daredevil pilot with clips on his Instagram often showing him performing stunts in helicopters, including low-level sprints, sharp turns and risky maneuvers while in the air, PEOPLE previously reported.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
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The first season followed 17-year-old Ethan (Cantona James) seeking a way out of the Southside’s bloody cycle of gang violence through spinning, a South African extreme motorsport that features drivers performing daredevil stunts.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Hundreds of miles off the coast of Ecuador, in the very place that inspired Charles Darwin’s seminal theory of evolution, a wild-growing species appears to have hit rewind.—
Taylor Nicioli,
CNN Money,
30 Oct. 2025
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Lamb's Quarters Lamb's quarters is a wild-growing green that's very high in calcium.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Rae’s dress featured a dramatic deep V neckline and nude illusion mesh straps that create a daring contrast against the gown’s sleek black fabric.—
Renan Botelho,
Footwear News,
3 Nov. 2025
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Her nude mani was rounded but with a square tip, which is the perfect mix between elegant and daring.—
Ana Serrano,
Glamour,
28 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Get to Know Erika Council Erika Council, a chef, author, and the owner of Atlanta’s wildly popular Bomb Biscuit Company, stopped by the Southern Living offices to do this interview in person.—
Sid Evans,
Southern Living,
4 Nov. 2025
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Patti Smith wrote a new reflection on her life, a follow up to her other wildly popular memoirs, ten years in the making.—
Julia Hass,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harum-scarum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harum-scarum. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025.
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