haphazard

1 of 2

adjective

hap·​haz·​ard (ˌ)hap-ˈha-zərd 

: 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.

Synonyms

Adjective

• aimless
• arbitrary
• catch-as-catch-can
• desultory
• erratic
• helter-skelter
• hit-or-miss
• random
• scattered
• slapdash
• stray

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

Adjective

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

But the effort was deeply criticized as haphazard and left behind so many Afghan allies who had risked their lives for the United States. —Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024

When the Obama administration tried this approach, its efforts were haphazard and ineffectual. —Alexander Cooley, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

hap entry 1 + hazard

First Known Use

Adjective

1576, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1569, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

haphazard

adjective

hap·​haz·​ard

(ˈ)hap-ˈhaz-ərd

: marked by lack of plan, order, or direction

haphazard adverb

haphazardly adverb

haphazardness noun