1
as in goofy
lacking in seriousness or maturity
the movie follows the harebrained antics of a pair of stoners who seem incapable of growing up
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a harebrained idea to go for a hike in an area where grizzly bear attacks had recently been reported
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harebrained
The cartoon comedy is everything that its title implies: The movie follows a cop who is half dog and half man, thanks to a harebrained (but lifesaving) surgery that leads a man and his faithful companion to be fused into one.
—
EW.com, 2 Feb. 2025
In Dog Man, after a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses them together and Dog Man is born.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2025
Reynolds thrived in front of a live studio audience, playing a college-age rascal who was more interested in messing with his friends and pursuing harebrained schemes than deciding on a major.
—Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2024
But that scheme is a bit harebrained, because the explosions would also introduce deadly radioactive material into the air.
—Sven Bilén, Discover Magazine, 17 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for harebrained
EW.com, 2 Feb. 2025
In Dog Man, after a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses them together and Dog Man is born.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2025
Reynolds thrived in front of a live studio audience, playing a college-age rascal who was more interested in messing with his friends and pursuing harebrained schemes than deciding on a major.
—Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 2 Aug. 2024
But that scheme is a bit harebrained, because the explosions would also introduce deadly radioactive material into the air.
—Sven Bilén, Discover Magazine, 17 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for harebrained
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harebrained
Adjective
-
Pair over Bluetooth, drop a shot into the app, add a collage frame or goofy sticker, and in half a minute, a wide-format print pops out.—
Shubham Yewale,
PC Magazine,
27 May 2025
-
Willy Memnon, who is endearingly played by Coleman Ray Clark as goofy, childlike and incompetent.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 May 2025
Adjective
-
To write off the Israeli leader would be foolish, especially with new elections not required until late 2026.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2025
-
His writing is so human—his people are foolish in such human ways.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
21 May 2025
Adjective
-
If a couple players on the Dodgers can make a silly comment, so can the owner of the Yankees.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2025
-
The idea of telling someone that a specific whiskey glass is the absolute best is silly, like trying to dictate the design of their wedding ring for them.—
Tom Mylan,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
This is just stupid how successful this is, but that’s really underselling it.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
31 May 2025
-
Camp, stupid, joyful—to both own and access—Labubu has taken over.—
Lara Johnson-Wheeler,
Vogue,
31 May 2025
Adjective
-
Cutting spending wasted on a futile pursuit of a global empire is not just a fiscal necessity.—
Ron Paul,
Oc Register,
20 May 2025
-
Desperate Steve Kerr frequently toggled his non-Draymond Green big men as late as the second round of the playoffs in a futile effort to contain the giants of the Minnesota Timberwolves around the rim.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 May 2025
Adjective
-
Read it because existence is absurd, and laughter might be the most intelligent response available.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
-
One thing that’s been a challenge to satirists in the last 10 years is that reality has become so absurd, with the dumbest possible things happening every day, that there doesn’t always seem to be another level for satire to go to.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2025
Adjective
-
Castillo’s short novel is a giddy character study of an unpleasant young male type.—
Jasmine Vojdani,
Vulture,
2 June 2025
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Attendees had the chance to film themselves posing against the canola field backdrop from When Life Gives You Tangerines or jumping high into the air like a giddy Thanos with the aid of a Squid Game trampoline.—
Regina Kim,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
Fast, not scared to use his front bumper, don't care if somebody gets mad about it and on the verge of becoming a star.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 June 2025
-
Netflix won’t need a mad genius to figure out that Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein needs to be brought to life on the biggest screen possible.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harebrained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harebrained. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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