foolhardy

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈfuːlhɑrdi/ UK /ˈfuːlhɑːdi/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
recklessly bold; foolishly venturesome

It was foolhardy to sail into the storm with so little fuel left.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · recklessly bold; foolishly... reckless rash impetuous impulsive daredevil incautious headstrongtemerarious

Opposites

cautious prudent careful wary circumspect

Word family

Forms foolhardiness

Derived forms foolhardilyfoolhardiness

Related forms fool foolish hardy

Etymology

From Middle English folhardi, from Old French fol hardi ('foolishly bold'), combining fol ('fool') and hardi ('bold, daring'). The second element derives from Frankish *hardjan, of Germanic origin.

fol hardi Old French *hardjan Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# foolhardy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈfuːlhɑrdi
**IPA (UK):** ˈfuːlhɑːdi

## Meanings
1. recklessly bold; foolishly venturesome

## Examples
- It was foolhardy to sail into the storm with so little fuel left.

## Synonyms
- reckless
- rash
- impetuous
- impulsive
- daredevil
- incautious
- headstrong
- temerarious

## Antonyms
- cautious
- prudent
- careful
- wary
- circumspect

## Derived Forms
- foolhardily
- foolhardiness

## Related Forms
- fool
- foolish
- hardy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fol hardi
- Root: *hardjan

## Etymology
From Middle English folhardi, from Old French fol hardi ('foolishly bold'), combining fol ('fool') and hardi ('bold, daring'). The second element derives from Frankish *hardjan, of Germanic origin.

## AI Etymology
Foolhardy comes from Middle English folhardi, from Old French fol hardi ('foolishly bold'), combining fol ('fool') and hardi ('bold, daring'). The second element derives from Frankish *hardjan, of Germanic origin. The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as an adjective meaning "recklessly bold; foolishly venturesome", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as foolhardily and foolhardiness and related forms such as fool, foolish, and hardy, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Old French fol hardi and Proto-Germanic *hardjan, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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