overhasty

Overhasty is an adjective used to describe actions or judgments made with excessive haste, without adequate consideration of evidence or consequences. It implies a tendency to leap to conclusions or decisions prematurely, often resulting in mistakes or misunderstandings. The term emphasizes not merely speed, but a deficiency of deliberation that hinders prudent decision-making.

Origin and usage: Overhasty is formed by adding the English prefix over- to hasty. It is commonly used in critique of reasoning, in advice against rushing decisions, and in literary descriptions of character traits. The phrase overhasty generalization is used in logic and statistics to describe inductive fallacies where a broad conclusion is drawn from insufficient data.

Usage examples: The committee made an overhasty decision based on incomplete reports. Don’t be overhasty in judging the new policy; more data is needed.

Comparison and nuance: It is related to but distinct from rash, impulsive, or precipitous; overhasty focuses on the excess of speed relative to necessary deliberation. In academic writing, it often contrasts with careful, methodical reasoning.

See also: hasty, rashness, haste, overconfidence, hasty generalization, logical fallacy.