reckless implies heedlessness of probable consequences.
a reckless driver
foolhardy suggests a recklessness that is inconsistent with good sense.
the foolhardy sailor ventured into the storm
Examples of foolhardy in a Sentence
hikers who were foolhardy enough to remain on the summit during a thunderstorm
it's foolhardy to go hiking during late fall without warm clothes
Recent Examples on the WebThe boy’s surrender, though foolhardy, is an act of rebellion, of taking reckless chances and throwing caution to the wind.—Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024 Oleksandr said he is involved in the bold, perhaps foolhardy, dash to the left bank of the Dnipro River, in a bid to forge a new line of attack on the occupied peninsula of Crimea, first taken in 2014.—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 23 Feb. 2024 For brands that want people to trust them, shrugging off those social changes is foolhardy.—Bynick Rockel, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2024 For a startup trying to bring back the woolly mammoth—or at least something like it—a fable about the dangers of foolhardy scientists messing around with the genetics of long-dead creatures is an obvious reference point.—Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024 Republicans don’t need Trump’s nationalism, and would be foolhardy to choose him, because all the other nationalist choices come without his appalling baggage.—Hugo Gurdon, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024 Rather than spend legal resources and privatize public land in a foolhardy attempt to hide the issue of our growing homeless population, the city should actively address the causes of homelessness and take the necessary steps to end this crisis.—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 Jan. 2024 Various early attempts to create A.I. had foundered, and the notion that the field was foolhardy had become entrenched in academic departments and software companies.—Charles Duhigg, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023 This is a potentially foolhardy approach, because family and friends, especially those in similar professional fields, increase his own network’s reach and relevance.—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'foolhardy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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