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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
-
Mark Dial, a former Philadelphia police officer who fatally shot a motorist during an August 2023 traffic stop, faces up to six years in prison as a jury convicted him of voluntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and possessing an instrument of crime, but acquitted him of murder charges.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 May 2025
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The student was taken into custody and transported to the Meriden Police Department where they were charged with first-degree arson, reckless burning, first-degree criminal mischief and second-degree breach of peace.—
Staff report,
Hartford Courant,
22 May 2025
Adverb
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The movie is so divided in its storytelling aims that there’s a sequence where Li’s tournament rounds and training are spliced in with moments of character and story development, connected by frantically fast drone shots that zip over the city.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2025
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The person who was frantically collecting certifications starts asking deeper questions about how to apply their learning.—
Michael Hudson,
Forbes.com,
29 May 2025
Adjective
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This summer, as his daredevil character Ethan Hunt, Cruise will be driving a Jeep.—
Liam Rappleye,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
-
Tom Cruise continues to defy death — and all expectations — with his daredevil stunts.—
Antonia Blyth,
Deadline,
14 May 2025
Adverb
-
All of it wild-caught.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
orlandosentinel.com,
14 Aug. 2020
-
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
Adjective
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Another suspect has been arrested in connection with a massive New Orleans jailbreak involving 10 inmates, who pulled off their daring escape earlier this week by slipping out a hole carved behind a prison toilet.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
23 May 2025
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Their absences seemed an eerie reminder that the troubled motion picture economy could no longer sustain either their soaring production budgets or their daring aspirations.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
22 May 2025
Adverb
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But while superheroes may no longer be an invincible box office force, their obsolescence has also been wildly overstated.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
28 May 2025
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Indeed, given the terrible history of indigenous children being torn away from their families, many pointed out that the creative choice came across as wildly insensitive.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harum-scarum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harum-scarum. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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