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rashness

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,546 of 15,258neutral

Rashness is acting boldly without thinking of the risk. A moment of rashness.

It is judged entirely by the outcome, since the same act is called courage when it works. Rashness in a decision usually comes from wanting the waiting to end.

Definitions of rashness

  1. 1nounrashnessActing boldly without thinking of the risk.C1

    “One moment of rashness cost him the whole deposit.”

rashness is a quality.

Where it comes from

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *Hreth₂- — to run, roll

  2. Proto-Germanic

    *raskaz

  3. Proto-West Germanic

    *rask

  4. Old English

    *ræsċ — rash

  5. Middle English

    rash

  6. English

    rash

  7. English, today

    rashness

Built from

  • rasch · Middle English — hasty, headstrong, rash
  • ræsċan · Old English — to move rapidly; to flicker; to flash; to glitter; to quiver
  • ræsċettan · Old English — to crackle, sparkle
  • *raþskuz · Proto-Germanic — rash; rapid

From rash + -ness. rash The adjective is derived from Middle English rash, rasch (“hasty, headstrong, rash”)rashe, rassh, rasshe, probably from Old English ræsċ (“rash”) (found in derivatives such as ræsċan (“to move rapidly; to flicker; to flash; to glitter; to quiver”), ræsċettan (“to crackle, sparkle”), etc.), from Proto-West Germanic rask, raskī, rasku, from Proto-Germanic raskaz, raskuz, raþskaz, raþskuz (“rash; rapid”), from Proto-Indo-European Hreth₂- (“to run, roll”). The Middle English word was probably influenced by the cognates listed below. The adverb is derived from Middle English rashe (“quickly, rapidly”), from rash, rasch (see above). 2

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

rashness in the wild

  • For this, he was remembered either as an admirable model of Roman self-confidence or as an example of Roman rashness.

    Lucius Furius Philus

  • Aristotle considered such rashness as one end (excessive) of a continuum, with courage as the mean and cowardice as the deficit vice.

    Recklessness (psychology)

  • The Roman commander, for all his rashness, handled the situation with skill and shrewdness to manipulate the events to his advantage.

    Marcus Minucius Rufus

  • War followed, in which at first Alutai was successful, owing to the rashness of the Ming dynasty; but in the following year he was beaten and fled.

    Arughtai

  • Due to their rashness, the two high military leaders were ambushed, and in the ensuing battle Genucius, who was fighting in the front ranks, was killed.

    Gnaeus Genucius Augurinus

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the rasch family

rash

rashness — used about once every 54,060 pages · #14,546 · point at the bar for the others