Meanings
- not comparablewild, careless, irresponsible
1832, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Eugene Aram Lester's good heart will be to hear that little Peter is so improved;--no longer a dissolute, harum-scarum fellow, throwing away his money, and always in debt.
- not comparablewildly, carelessly, irresponsibly
1800, Maria Edgeworth, Castle Rackrent […] for he never looked after anything at all, but harum-scarum called for everything as if we were conjurors, or he in a public-house.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivecheerfully irresponsible
nouna reckless impetuous irresponsible person
adverbin a wild or reckless manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Uncertain. Likely from hare (“harass, harry”) 'em (“them”) and scare 'em (“frighten them”); alternately the first element may be from hare (“rabbit-like animals”), or the second element may be a variant of stare. Attested from the late 17th century. Compare English willy-nilly of the same meaning.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian безотговорен, лекомислен
- безотговорен (bezotgovoren)wild, careless, irresponsible
- лекомислен (lekomislen)wild, careless, irresponsible
Hungarian szeleburdi, hűbelebalázs
- szeleburdiwild, careless, irresponsible
- hűbelebalázswild, careless, irresponsible
Polish roztrzepany, lekkomyślny
- roztrzepanywild, careless, irresponsible
- lekkomyślnywild, careless, irresponsible
- bezmyślnywild, careless, irresponsible
Russian безрассудный
- безрассудный (bezrassudnyj)wild, careless, irresponsible
Cite this entry
harum-scarum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harum-scarum
“harum-scarum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harum-scarum. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “harum-scarum,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harum-scarum.
Source: harum-scarum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.