胆大妄为

膽大妄為
dǎndà-wàngwéi
idiom #40,636

Meanings

  1. 1 brazenly reckless
  2. 2 daring to act without scruple
  3. 3 audacious and lawless

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tā dǎndàwàngwéi, jūrán gǎn nuóyòng gōngkuǎn.
He was so brazen that he actually dared to embezzle public funds.
HSK 7-9
Zhè huǒ qièzéi dǎndàwàngwéi, guāngtiānhuàrì zhīxià zuò'àn.
This gang of thieves is so audacious they commit crimes in broad daylight.
HSK 7-9
Duì zhèzhǒng dǎndàwàngwéi de xíngwéi bìxū yánchéng.
Such reckless and lawless acts must be severely punished.

Tips

history
From Zeng Pu's 《孽海花》 (late Qing): 这种人要在敝国,是早已明正典刑,哪里容他们如此胆大妄为呢 - 'such people would long since have been executed in our country; how could they be allowed to act so lawlessly?' The phrase captures outraged condemnation.
usage
Sharply condemnatory, used only for clearly wrongful actions. 妄 ('wildly, without principle') is the key morpheme that makes it negative; compare neutral 胆大 ('bold') or positive 胆大心细 ('bold but careful').

Stroke Order

胆 dǎn
大 dà
妄 wàng
为 wéi