temer-

(Latin: rashly; at random, by chance; blindly; reckless; foolishly)

temerarious (adjective), more temerarious, most temerarious
1. Foolhardy and recklessly daring: It was a temerarious idea for early scientists to imagine the earth circumnavigating the sun.
2. Rash; headstrong; unreasonably adventurous; despising danger: Mary's temerarious aunt is always ready to dash off to a new adventure; now, she is planning to go canoeing down the Mackenzie River in Canada.
3. Careless; heedless; done at random: With a temerarious dash of his pen, the tenant signed a generous check for the landlord.
Rash and reckless.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Unreasonably venturous and taking chances.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

temerariously
temerariousness
Marked by temerity; rashly or presumptuously daring.
temerary
1. Rash, reckless.
2. Reprehensibly heedless or careless; culpably negligent.
temerat
Adventurous, headstrong, too forward.
temeration
Temerity.
temeritous
Full of temerity; rash.
temerity (s) (noun), temerities (pl)
1. Foolhardy contempt for or disregard of danger; recklessness; rashness: The plan to ride across the desert by camel showed a remarkable temerity on the part of the explorer.
2. Reckless confidence that might be considered to be rude or offensive: No one had the temerity, or audacity, to challenge the senior manager's decision.
3. Etymology: from Middle French témérité; from Latin temeritatem, temeritas, "blind chance, accident, rashness"; from Latin temere, "by chance, blindly, casually, rashly"; related to tenebrae, "darkness".
Rashly unreasonable in the face of danger.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Irrational disregard for a dangerous move.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

The elaborate caution with which the British commander now proceeded stands out in striking contrast with the temerity of his advance upon Bunker Hill in the preceding year.

—John Fiske, "Washington's Great Campaign of 1776",
The Atlantic, January, 1989.

Drivers with the temerity to accelerate out of turns are likely to encounter torque steer, an unsettling glitch in control as the engine fights to take charge of the steering.

—Peter Passell, "Mitsubishi Diamante: Back From Down Under",
New York Times, February 23, 1997.
temerosity
Excessive boldness; rashness; foolhardiness, recklessness.
temerous
Temerarious.

A cross reference of other word family units that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "chance, luck, fate": aleato-; auspic-; cad-; fortu-; -mancy; serendipity; sorc-; tycho-.