めったやたら

め

っ

た

や

た

ら

Meanings

1

na-adjective, noun

reckless; indiscriminate; thoughtless

usually written using kana alone

Describes doing something without careful thought, often excessively or without discrimination. Can be used as a na-adjective or adverbially with に.

彼かれはめったやたらにお金かねを使つかう。

He spends money recklessly.

めったやたらな発はつ言げんは避さけたほうがいい。

You should avoid thoughtless remarks.

やたら
やたら alone means 'excessively' or 'randomly', while めったやたら combines めった (thoughtless) and やたら for a stronger sense of reckless indiscrimination.
無む茶ちゃ苦く茶ちゃ
無茶苦茶 emphasizes absurdity or messiness, whereas めったやたら focuses on lack of discretion or restraint.

Written forms

めったやたらUsage100%
Usually written in kana. The kanji form 滅多矢鱈 is ateji and rare.
滅めっ多た矢や鱈たら
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)
Ateji spelling; rarely used in modern writing.

Etymology

Compound of めった (thoughtless, reckless) and やたら (indiscriminate, random). The kanji 滅多矢鱈 is ateji, assigned phonetically without regard to the characters' meanings.