as in hurried
acting or done with excessive or careless speed
terrified forest creatures in a headlong retreat from the rapidly spreading fire
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in hastily
with excessive or careless speed
plunged headlong into the crowd in pursuit of the purse snatcher
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in immediately
without delay
had barely finished the last project when we went headlong into the next one
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of headlong
Howard Copenhaver, Outdoor Life, 23 Apr. 2025
While no supporter — surely — would swap any of that frenetic, headlong decade for Tottenham’s inert version of stability, glory becomes addictive.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Will Grant, Outside Online, 11 June 2025
Discounting any of the various potential paradoxes and possible multiversal implications of the deed, Jeb Bush leapt headlong into this hypothetical (take your pick) DeLorean, phone booth, Tardis, or Wellsian steampunk contraption with a knife in hand.
—Jack Butler, National Review, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for headlong
Adjective
My yell must have startled him for a second or two, and my headlong rush kept him off balance just long enough.
—Howard Copenhaver, Outdoor Life, 23 Apr. 2025
While no supporter — surely — would swap any of that frenetic, headlong decade for Tottenham’s inert version of stability, glory becomes addictive.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Adverb
The team should have declined, should have been more deliberate about its approach to the horses, the scrumming together, the picking up of the dummy goat, but instead the guys flew into action like true American cowboys: headlong and about to get hurt.
—Will Grant, Outside Online, 11 June 2025
Discounting any of the various potential paradoxes and possible multiversal implications of the deed, Jeb Bush leapt headlong into this hypothetical (take your pick) DeLorean, phone booth, Tardis, or Wellsian steampunk contraption with a knife in hand.
—Jack Butler, National Review, 8 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for headlong
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headlong
Adjective
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After a hurried recovery period in his upstate hospital, Dexter heads to New York City, where his son Harrison (Jack Alcott) has moved.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
10 July 2025
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Here’s how Kansas and Missouri representatives and senators voted in the hurried push to pass President Trump’s massive, controversial spending bill.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
9 July 2025
Adverb
-
To cash in on the song’s success and a subsequent album for which Dante recorded all his parts in barely two days, a band called The Cuff Links was hastily assembled and sent out on tour without him.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 July 2025
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In addition, their international students are being singled out for legal proceedings, and academic freedom at several prominent institutions is coming under increasing fire from a series of unprecedented government demands and hastily conducted investigations.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Adverb
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The Colma Police Department didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
8 July 2025
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Ballots dropped in a smart box can be tracked immediately, Michalowski said.—
Sophie Levenson,
Chicago Tribune,
8 July 2025
Adverb
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If someone succumbs to the heat, promptly relocate them to a cool, shaded location.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
11 July 2025
-
This strategic forum, comprising senior business, technology and risk executives, ensures that cyber initiatives advance business goals, critical risks are promptly mitigated, and the cybersecurity function flexibly adapts to changing business needs and new threats.—
Phillimon Zongo,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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Outfits that once felt aspirational quickly become irrelevant, leaving behind a cycle of impulsive purchases, lukewarm satisfaction, and the constant itch for reinvention.—
Jailynn Taylor,
Essence,
8 July 2025
-
Back in 1937, Winfield James, Harry Caldwell and Jimmy Pickard — three impulsive teens from Abilene, just out of high school and trying to avoid summer jobs — paddled a small canoe some 660 miles down the Colorado from Ballinger, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adverb
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For example, predictive AI instantly decides whether to allow each credit card charge, whereas the wholesale replacement of physicians with machines is a very long way off at best.—
Eric Siegel,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
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Users can send and receive it across borders instantly.—
Wale Ayeni,
semafor.com,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
Alleged stabber Larry Boards is facing two counts of felony assault, reckless endangerment, and harassment for the crazed confrontation at the 82nd St.-Jackson Heights No. 7 train station at about 4:15 p.m. Friday, cops said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
12 July 2025
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Broadly, the search warrant describes the crimes as first-degree intentional homicide and reckless endangering of safety by use of a deadly weapon.—
Claudia Levens,
jsonline.com,
10 July 2025
Adverb
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The probability of lightning strikes rises as a thunderstorm approaches and peaks when the storm is directly above.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
10 July 2025
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And Craig’s wife directly accused him of poisoning her when she was discharged from her second hospital stay, the dental employee who saw the potassium cyanide package told investigators, according to the affidavit.—
Andi Babineau,
CNN Money,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Headlong.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headlong. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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