What does "headlong" mean?
To precipitate.
Headlong
/ˈhɛd.lɒŋ/ adj, adv, verb
adj, adv, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To precipitate.
- Grammar: headlong is listed as adj, adv, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: headfirst, a corps perdu, abrupt, abruptly.
- Useful contrasts: carefully, cautious, cautiously.
- Usage evidence: You immediately rushed headlong into it!
How to use "headlong"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "headlong" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "headlong" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "headlong" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "headlong" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "headlong" is acting as adj, adv, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "headfirst" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "headlong", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To precipitate. transitive
"If a stranger be setting his pace and face toward some deep pit, or steep rock — such a precipice as the cliffs of Dover — how do we cry aloud to have him return ? yet in mean time forget the course of our own sinful ignorance, that headlongs us to confusion."
Adjective
- 1 Precipitous.
"Their path led them past sharp cliffs, along narrow trails unknown and untrodden, past headlong boulders strewn across barren, treeless, wind-haunted heights."
- 2 Plunging downwards head foremost.
"On sighting their prey, they check their flight and hurtle in a headlong dive to the sea."
- 3 Rushing forward without restraint.
"Bumps, bruises, and scratches are often the result of their efforts to outstrip each other in the headlong race."
- 4 Reckless; impetuous. figuratively
"“Time is up,” cried another boy, more headlong than head-monitor."
Adjective
- 1 with the head foremost wordnet
- 2 excessively quick wordnet
Adverb
- 1 With the head first or down. not-comparable
"[A] sharp-looking old dame, […] inhabited a "laigh [low] shop," anglicé [in English], a cellar, opening to the High-street by a strait and steep stair, at the bottom of which she sold tape, thread, needles, skeans of worsted, coarse linen cloth, and such feminine gear, to those who had the courage and skill to descend to the profundity of her dwelling, without falling headlong themselves, or throwing down any of the numerous articles which, piled on each side of the descent, indicated the profession of the trader below."
- 2 With an unrestrained forward motion. not-comparable
"Figures out today show the economy plunging headlong into recession."
- 3 Rashly; precipitately; without deliberation; in haste, hastily. not-comparable
Adverb
- 1 with the head before the body wordnet
- 2 in a hasty and foolhardy manner wordnet
- 3 at breakneck speed wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"You immediately rushed headlong into it!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "headlong"?
Common synonyms include: headfirst, a corps perdu, abrupt, abruptly, accident prone, accident-prone.
How do you use "headlong" in a sentence?
You immediately rushed headlong into it!
How do you pronounce "headlong"?
Pronounced /ˈhɛd.lɒŋ/.
Etymology
From Middle English hedlong, alteration of hedling, heedling, hevedlynge (“headlong”), assimilated to long. More at headling.