bracing

[ brey-sing ]

adjective

1. strengthening; invigorating:

   This mountain air is bracing.

2. of, relating to, or serving as a brace.

noun

1. a brace.
2. braces collectively:

   The bracing on this scaffold is weak.

3. material, as timber, used for braces.

bracing

/ ˈbreɪsɪŋ /

adjective

1. refreshing; stimulating; invigorating

   the air here is bracing

noun

1. a system of braces used to strengthen or support

   the bracing supporting the building is perfectly adequate

Derived Forms

• ˈbracingly, adverb

Other Words From

• bracing·ly adverb
• bracing·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bracing¹

First recorded in 1475–85; brace + -ing ¹ for the noun senses; brace + -ing ² for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

Luckily, we have the benefit of being able to read the future even as we watch Thirteen Lives, and that leaves us free to enjoy Howard’s crackerjack storytelling skills, not to mention the picture’s bracing, casually heroic lead performances.

From Time

Then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dialed into the meeting via teleconference with a bracing appeal that left some of the world-weary politicians with watery eyes.

From Washington Post

That early space race with the then-Soviet Union was actually a very bracing thing for both countries, driving technological innovation.

From Time

That often means also dropping some weight, since lifting heavier would necessitate bracing against your abdomen and pelvic floor.

From Popular-Science

These hearings are taking place as Brazil still averages around 2,000 coronavirus deaths daily, with many bracing for third wave, and the public-health system is battered to the point of near-collapse.

From Vox

The strategic coastal city of Mariupol is bracing for attack as pro-Russian rebels move south and say the capital isn't safe.

From The Daily Beast

Headlines big and small proclaim the bracing news: democratization, as a global project, is over.

From The Daily Beast

It had a lot to do with prevailing medical opinion that bracing climates were essential to good health.

From The Daily Beast

We in turn can briefly marvel at the bracing, if distant, possibility of a King Harry.

From The Daily Beast

But it also shows an optimism that should be genuinely bracing and energizing for Americans of all ages.

From The Daily Beast

Matt had come to a quick stop, disengaging his right foot from the toe-clip and bracing the motor-cycle upright.

From Project Gutenberg

There is also in large bridges wind-bracing to stiffen the structure against horizontal forces.

From Project Gutenberg

It can be stiffened by girders and bracing and is then of mixed type, when it loses much of its advantage in economy.

From Project Gutenberg

At first girders had solid or plate webs, but for spans over 100 ft. the web always now consists of bracing bars.

From Project Gutenberg

Connecting the flanges is a vertical web which may be a solid plate or a system of bracing bars.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• invigorating
• refreshing