bravura
Americannoun
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bravuras,
plural
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bravure
plural
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Music. a florid passage or piece requiring great skill and spirit in the performer.
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a display of daring; brilliant performance.
adjective
noun
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a display of boldness or daring
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music
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brilliance of execution
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( as modifier )
a bravura passage
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bravura
First recorded in 1780–90; from Italian: literally, “spirit, dash”; see brave, -ure
Explanation
When a dancer spins flawlessly through an incredibly challenging routine, their performance is pure bravura, showcasing dazzling skill and bold confidence. Bravura is a noun that refers to a show of exceptional talent or daring, often in the arts. The term comes from Italian, meaning "bravery" or "spirit." It's commonly used to describe performances in music, theater, or dance that are not only technically impressive but also delivered with extraordinary confidence and style. Bravura can also apply to any act or feat that is executed with exceptional skill and daring, making it a celebration of human talent and boldness.
Vocabulary lists containing bravura
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It's a bravura performance that showcases her facility with melody and arrangement - and she essentially recreates it live on stage at the O2.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
A mere 64 years after their debut, The Rolling Stones make their bravura return with “Foreign Tongues,” their 25th studio album.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
It’s a chronicle of race history in the late 19th and 20th centuries, with all the unpleasantness, and yet it is an act of poetic aspiration, resignation and bravura aesthetics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Michele, demonstrating that her bravura turn in “Funny Girl” was no fluke, delivers a scalding rendition of “Nobody’s Side.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
A marvel, really, the ease with which Dick negotiated changes of mood; in a trice, all trace of meanness, of sullen bravura, had evaporated.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Those simple airs were more congenial to the depressed spirits of the whole assemblage than the most showy bravuras; and, sung by those handsome creatures—for beauty adds a charm to everything—retained me spell-bound.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 334, August 1843 by Various
The midnight bravuras at the pianos mixed wildly in my broken dreams.
From The English in the West Indies or, The Bow of Ulysses by James Anthony Froude
For the Dinkey-Bird's bravuras And staccatos are so sweet— His roulades, appoggiaturas, And robustos so complete, That the youth of every nation— Be they near or far away— Have especial delectation In that gladsome roundelay.
From Love-Songs of Childhood by Eugene Field
People will not be afraid of cadenzas five minutes long, or of bravuras, every note of which makes one hope it may be the last.
From The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness A Complete Hand Book for the Use of the Lady in Polite Society by Florence Hartley
For the Dinkey-Bird's bravuras And staccatos are so sweet— His roulades, appogiaturas, And robustos so complete, That the youth of every nation— Be they near or far away— Have especial delectation In that gladsome roundelay.
From The Book of Humorous Verse by Carolyn Wells
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
