Meanings
comparative more slapdash · superlative most slapdash
- Produced or carried out hastily; haphazard; careless.
Valérie Pisano, the chief executive of Mila – the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute – said the slapdash approach to safety in AI systems would not be tolerated in any other field.
2023 May 2, Josh Taylor, Alex Hern, “‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton quits Google and warns over dangers of misinformation”, in The Guardian, →ISSN2 more examples
They had seen Poland, and that was the sort of slovenly, slapdash place they were used to, but once across the German frontier they found everything—crops, roads, buildings—uncannily different.
1989, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated by H. T. Willetts, August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 114When you're in the front entrance, get a feel for what's going on. Tours are never timed to coincide with breaks but if there are any children milling about, see what they're up to. If they're on a dutiful errand, for example delivering registers, the school probably encourages a responsible attitude. If they're play-fighting in the corridor without consequence, it tells a less impressive story and could mean a slapdash approach to discipline.
2014 September 23, A teacher, “Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents”, in The Guardian
comparative more slapdash · superlative most slapdash
- In a hasty or careless manner.
Synonyms: carelessly, haphazardly, hastily
- With a slap; all at once; slap.
And yet, slap dash, is all again In every sinew, nerve, and vein; Runs here and there, like Hamlet's ghost
1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC
present singular third person slapdashes · participle present slapdashing · participle past slapdashed · past slapdashed
- colloquialTo apply, or apply something to, in a hasty, careless, or rough manner; to roughcast.
to slapdash a wall
1 more example
to slapdash mortar or paint on a wall
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbIn a hasty or careless manner.
adverbDirectly, right there; slap-bang.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbin a careless or reckless manner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From slap + dash. First attested in the late 17th century, meaning "careless".
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian прибързан, прибързано
- прибързан (pribărzan)done hastily
- прибързано (pribărzano)in a hasty or careless manner
- небрежно (nebrežno)in a hasty or careless manner
Catalan barroer, barroerament
- barroerdone hastily
- barroeramentin a hasty or careless manner
Danish forhastet, jasket
- forhastetdone hastily
- jasketin a hasty or careless manner
Dutch gehaast, haastig
- gehaastdone hastily
- haastigin a hasty or careless manner
- nonchalantin a hasty or careless manner
Esperanto fuŝa
- fuŝadone hastily
Finnish hutiloitu, juosten kustu
- hutiloitudone hastily
- juosten kustudone hastily
French bâclé
- bâclédone hastily
German schludrig, flüchtig
- schludrigdone hastily
- flüchtigdone hastily
- hopplahopdone hastily
- blindlingsdone hastily
- oberflächlichdone hastily
- hudeligdone hastily
- schlampertdone hastily
- schlampigdone hastily
- hopplahoppin a hasty or careless manner
- schludrigin a hasty or careless manner
- schlampigin a hasty or careless manner
Māori tūpatokore, kōkau
- tūpatokoredone hastily
- kōkaudone hastily
- mākūaredone hastily
- hakiraradone hastily
- hakuraradone hastily
- tūpatokorein a hasty or careless manner
Norwegian Bokmål forhastet
- forhastetdone hastily
Polish byle jaki, niedbały
- byle jakidone hastily
- niedbałydone hastily
- niestarannydone hastily
- byle jakin a hasty or careless manner
- niedbalein a hasty or careless manner
- niestaranniein a hasty or careless manner
Portuguese feito nas coxas
- feito nas coxasdone hastily
Russian поспе́шный, небре́жный
- поспе́шный (pospéšnyj)done hastily
- небре́жный (nebréžnyj)done hastily
- на́спех (náspex)in a hasty or careless manner
- как попа́ло (kak popálo)in a hasty or careless manner
- кое-ка́к (koje-kák)in a hasty or careless manner
- торопли́во (toroplívo)in a hasty or careless manner
- неря́шливо (nerjášlivo)in a hasty or careless manner
- на ско́рую ру́ку (na skóruju rúku)in a hasty or careless manner
- тяп-ля́п (tjap-ljáp)in a hasty or careless manner
Spanish chapucero, dicho rápido y mal
- chapucerodone hastily
- dicho rápido y malin a hasty or careless manner
Swedish hafsig, slarvig
- hafsigdone hastily
- slarvigdone hastily
Turkish üstünkörü
- üstünkörüdone hastily
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with slapdash
Cite this entry
slapdash. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slapdash
“slapdash.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slapdash. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “slapdash,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/slapdash.
Source: slapdash on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.