foolhardy

adjective

fool·​har·​dy ˈfül-ˌhär-dē 

: foolishly adventurous and bold : rash

a foolhardy explorer

foolhardy investors

foolhardily

ˈfül-ˌhär-dᵊl-ē 

adverb

foolhardiness

ˈfül-ˌhär-dē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• audacious
• brash
• daredevil
• madcap
• overbold
• overconfident
• reckless
• temerarious

Choose the Right Synonym for foolhardy

adventurous, venturesome, daring, daredevil, rash, reckless, foolhardy mean exposing oneself to danger more than required by good sense.

adventurous implies a willingness to accept risks but not necessarily imprudence.

adventurous pioneers

venturesome implies a jaunty eagerness for perilous undertakings.

venturesome stunt pilots

daring implies fearlessness in courting danger.

daring mountain climbers

daredevil stresses ostentation in daring.

daredevil motorcyclists

rash suggests imprudence and lack of forethought.

a rash decision

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 Web

Overshadowing the endorsement was a foolhardy rhetorical flourish that insulted key voting blocs courted by the Republican nominee in his campaign against the Democratic nominee, New York Governor Grover Cleveland. —Robert B. Mitchell / Made By History, TIME, 24 Oct. 2024

An empathy gap is obvious in online commenters who suggest, for example, that flood victims earned their fate through the foolhardy choice to live near water, that earthquake victims shouldn’t have lived near fault lines, and so on. —Hazlitt, 23 Oct. 2024

And if even one state’s bioweapons program experimented with extinction-level pathogens—perhaps on a foolhardy quest to develop the ultimate deterrent—the next laboratory accident could precipitate a global pandemic much worse than that of COVID-19. —William MacAskill, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2022

The brave—or foolhardy—among us can even love to love it. —Simon Garfield, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

foolhardy

adjective

fool·​har·​dy ˈfül-ˌhärd-ē 

: foolishly adventurous or bold

foolhardily

-ˌhärd-ᵊl-ē 

adverb

foolhardiness

-ˌhärd-ē-nəs 

noun