Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

harum-scarum

/ˌhɛəɹəmˈskɛəɹəm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.35 in modern English

Syllables
harum-s-carum
IPA
/ˌhɛəɹəmˈskɛəɹəm/
20
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

wild, careless, irresponsible

adv

wildly, carelessly, irresponsibly

noun

A giddy, rash person.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Uncertain. Likely from hare (“harass, harry”) 'em (“them”) and scare 'em (“frighten them”); alternately the first element may be from hare (“rabbit-like animals”), or the second element may be a variant of stare. Attested from the late 17th century. Compare English willy-nilly of the same meaning.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌhɛəɹəmˈskɛəɹəm/

Inflected Forms

harum-scarums (plural)

Synonyms

carefree devil-may-care freewheeling happy-go-lucky slaphappy pell-mell daredevil madcap hothead swashbuckler lunatic

Questions

How do you pronounce harum-scarum?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌhɛəɹəmˈskɛəɹəm/.
What does harum-scarum mean?
wild, careless, irresponsible
Where does harum-scarum come from?
Uncertain. Likely from hare (“harass, harry”) 'em (“them”) and scare 'em (“frighten them”); alternately the first element may be from hare (“rabbit-like animals”), or the second element may be a variant of stare. Attested from the late 17th century. Compare English willy-nilly of the same meaning.

How to pronounce harum-scarum

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “harum-scarum”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌhɛəɹəmˈskɛəɹəm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “harum-scarum”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “harum-scarum” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.