foolhardy
fool·har·dy/ˈfulˌhɑɹdi/adjective, noun
foolhardy is spelled F-O-O-L-H-A-R-D-Y: 9 letters and 3 syllables (fool·har·dy). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, foolhardy means “Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard for danger; boldly rash; hotheaded” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in foolhardy?
| Letters | 9: F-O-O-L-H-A-R-D-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: fool·har·dy |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is foolhardy?
Foolhardy appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce foolhardy?
- UK /ˈfuːlhɑːdi/
- US /ˈfulˌhɑɹdi/
Foolhardy has 3 syllables, split fool·har·dy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-foolhardy.ogg, En-au-foolhardy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with foolhardy
Also written: fool-hardy (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of foolhardy
- foolhardier comparative
- more foolhardy comparative
- foolhardiest superlative
- most foolhardy superlative
- fool-hardy
- foolhardies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does foolhardy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard for danger; boldly rash; hotheaded.
noun
- 1
A person who is foolhardy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Foolhardy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense marked by unthinking recklessness with disregard for danger:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tête brûlée |
| German | töricht, tollkühn, vermessen, verwegen, ungestüm, hitzköpfig |
| Spanish | temerario |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does foolhardy come from?
From Middle English folehardy, foolhardi, folherdi, from Old French fol hardi (“foolishly bold”), from Old French fol (“foolish, silly; insane, mad”) (from Latin follis (“bellows; purse, sack; inflated ball; belly, paunch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell”)) + Old French hardi (“durable, hardy, tough”) (past tense of hardir (“to harden”), from the unattested Frankish *hartjan, from Proto-Germanic *harduz (“hard; brave”)), equivalent to fool + hardy. Compare fool-bold, fool-large, etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).