boldly
Americanadverb
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without hesitation or fear in the face of risk or danger; courageously.
To those who so boldly fought and died for our freedom, I apologize that so many have thrown it away.
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without worrying about the opinion or judgment of others.
He uttered his prayer loudly, boldly, not caring if the others overheard.
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without regard for the rules of propriety or morality; impudently or brazenly.
The chutzpah it takes to lie so boldly is epic!
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in a way that goes beyond usual limits of conventional thought or action; in a visionary or imaginative way.
The new concert hall demonstrates that an intimate musical experience and boldly innovative architecture need not be in conflict.
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in a way that is visually striking or arresting; in a showy or flashy way.
The boldly striped entrance hall makes a dramatic opening statement in this home.
The male is an attractive and boldly marked bird, while the female is comparatively drab.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of boldly
Explanation
Do something boldly and you act with bravery and confidence. Despite your shyness, you made friends on the first day of school by boldly introducing yourself to your classmates. When someone takes a risk or musters up a lot of courage, they act boldly. Harriet Tubman boldly led enslaved people to safety on the Underground Railroad. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay boldly scaled Mt. Everest, the first people known to make it to the summit. And you might boldly speak up in defense of a friend who's being bullied. The Old English root is beald, "stout-hearted."
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.
Boldly rendered and brightly colored, Trap Bob’s paintings initially seem cheerful.
From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2021
Boldly declarative but coolly farseeing, his compositions expanded the range of harmonic possibility in jazz.
From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2021
Boldly, he posed that “much like a god, a composer may … invert Eddington's ‘arrow of time.’”
From Scientific American • Aug. 19, 2020
Boldly go where no franchise entry has gone before in the new animated sci-fi comedy “Star Trek: Lower Decks.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2020
Boldly the black pup came to ward her, his fat backside swinging as he trotted to the bottom of her frost heave, and barked.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
Definitions 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.
