haphazard means random; chaotic; incomplete; not thorough, constant, or consistent. It carries an Arena rating of 1600, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, haphazard ranks #2,340 of 14,361 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,350 of 14,448 for Most Incisive Words, #2,517 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,574 of 14,448 for Funniest Words.
haphazard is pronounced /(ˌ)hæpˈhæz.əd/.
Why “haphazard” is a great word
Characterized by a lack of order, planning, or organization; random and often careless. From archaic hap ("chance, luck") and hazard ("risk, danger"), first recorded as a noun in the 1570s and as an adjective in the 1670s. Unlike "methodical," which proceeds with systematic deliberation, or "random," which denotes mere absence of pattern, haphazard carries the scent of negligent disarray. It is the jumbled desk where papers are lost by inattention, the garden where seeds were scattered without regard for light or soil, and the precarious tower of unlabeled boxes in a cellar—a testament to carelessness given form, the quiet entropy of human intention surrendered to fortune.
Etymology
From archaic hap (“chance, luck”) + hazard.
adj
- Random; chaotic; incomplete; not thorough, constant, or consistent.“Do not make such haphazard changes to the settings; instead, adjust the knobs carefully, a bit at a time.”
adv
- Haphazardly.“"[...] I suspect that it mostly happens haphazard, though afterwards various noble reasons are invented. About marriage I am cynical.””
noun
- Simple chance, a random accident, luck.“You should never talk about your own fingers, and haphazards, to genteel people. You should only talk about agreeable subjects as I do.”
Words closest in meaning
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