haphazard

1 of 2

adjective

hap·haz·ard (ˌ)hap-ˈha-zərd

Synonyms of haphazard next

: marked by lack of plan, order, or direction

a haphazard assemblage of furniture

not … a collection of haphazard schemes, but rather the orderly component parts of a connected and logical whole—

F. D. Roosevelt

haphazard adverb

haphazardly adverb

haphazardness noun

haphazardry

(ˌ)hap-ˈha-zər-drē

noun

haphazard

2 of 2

noun

: chance sense 1

this little remnant preserved by the haphazard of chance—

Edith Hamilton

take our principles at haphazard—

John Locke

Did you know?

The hap in haphazard comes from an English word that means "happening," as well as "chance or fortune." Hap, in turn, comes from the Old Norse word happ, meaning "good luck." Perhaps it's no accident that hazard also has its own connotations of chance and luck: while it now refers commonly to something that presents danger, at one time it referred to a dice game similar to craps. (The name ultimately comes from the Arabic word al-zahr, meaning "the die.") Haphazard first entered English as a noun meaning "chance" in the 16th century, and soon afterward was being used as an adjective to describe things with no apparent logic or order.

Choose the Right Synonym for haphazard

random, haphazard, casual mean determined by accident rather than design.

random stresses lack of definite aim, fixed goal, or regular procedure.

a random selection of books

haphazard applies to what is done without regard for regularity or fitness or ultimate consequence.

a haphazard collection of rocks

casual suggests working or acting without deliberation, intention, or purpose.

a casual collector

Examples of haphazard in a Sentence

Adjective We were given a haphazard tour of the city. considering the haphazard way you measured the ingredients, it's a wonder the cookies came out this good

Recent Examples on the Web

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Adjective

Instead of relying on haphazard observations and product claims, the Outside Lab @ CU Denver set up an experiment to find out which travel mug keeps beverages warmest the longest. —

Adam Trenkamp, Outside Online, 10 Oct. 2024 At times, the company seems to police videos primarily in response to public outcry, which makes its decisions inherently haphazard and potentially malleable. —

Louise Matsakis, WIRED, 2 Mar. 2018 Congress had just passed the National Flood Insurance Program in 1968, but implementation had been haphazard. —

Justin McBrien / Made By History, TIME, 9 Oct. 2024 The former president's endorsement process has evolved from haphazard to sharp and effective, rendering all other endorsements all but obsolete. —

Kaleigh Rogers, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for haphazard