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. ('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

dǎn
wàng
wéi