Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

brash

[brash]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
adjective, brash·er, brash·est. Also brashy.
  1. impertinent; impudent; tactless: a brash young man.
  2. hasty; rash; impetuous.
  3. energetic or highly spirited, especially in an irreverent way; zesty: a brash new musical.
  4. (used especially of wood) brittle.
noun
  1. a pile or stack of loose fragments or debris, as of rocks or hedge clippings.
  2. brash ice.
  3. Pathology. heartburn(def 1).
  4. Scot. and North England Dialect.
    1. a sudden shower or burst of rain.
    2. any sudden, minor sickness or indisposition, especially of the digestive tract.
    3. an assault; attack.

Origin of brash

1400–50; (noun) late Middle English brass(c)he a slap, crash, perhaps blend of brok(e) (Old English broc breach, fragment, sickness; akin to break) and dasch smashing blow; see dash1; (adj.) in sense “brittle,” derivative of noun; in sense “hasty” by confusion with rash1
Related formsbrash·ly, adverbbrash·ness, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
2. reckless, overhasty, imprudent, foolhardy, precipitate.

Antonyms

2. cautious, wary, prudent, careful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for brashness

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for brashness

brash1

adjective
  1. tastelessly or offensively loud, showy, or bold
  2. hasty; rash
  3. impudent
Derived Formsbrashly, adverbbrashness, noun

Word Origin

C19: perhaps influenced by rash 1

brash2

noun
  1. loose rubbish, such as broken rock, hedge clippings, etc; debris

Word Origin

C18: of unknown origin

brash3

noun
  1. pathol another name for heartburn

Word Origin

C16: perhaps of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for brashness

brash

adj.

1824, of obscure origin, originally American English; perhaps akin to 16c. Scottish brash "attack, assault," or French breche "fragments," especially of ice, from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German brehha "breach," from brehhan "to break"), or to German brechen "to vomit."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper