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Synonyms

brash

American  
[brash] / bræʃ /

adjective

brasher, brashest

  1. impertinent; impudent; tactless.

    a brash young man.

  2. hasty; rash; impetuous.

    Synonyms:
    precipitate, foolhardy, imprudent, overhasty, reckless
    Antonyms:
    careful, prudent, wary, cautious

  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.

  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.

brash 1 British  
/ bræʃ /

adjective

  1. tastelessly or offensively loud, showy, or bold

  2. hasty; rash

  3. impudent

"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
brash 2 British  
/ bræʃ /

noun

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

"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
brash 3 British  
/ bræʃ /

noun

  1. pathol another name for heartburn

"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

Other Word Forms

  • brashly adverb
  • brashness noun

Etymology

Origin of brash

First recorded in 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”; dash 1; (adjective) in the sense “brittle” is derivative of the noun; in the sense “hasty” by confusion with rash 1

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.

She would just be free and wear glitter on her face and have feathers in her hair and her music was very unapologetically brash and tongue-in-cheek with the lyrics.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026

The governor directed his team to match the brash communication tactics emanating from the White House.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

James Watt, brash and at times brilliant, had undoubtedly been the driving force behind this.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

But when he is in the middle of a contentious situation, he can be brash and prone to angry outbursts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

Astoundingly, the eighty-one-year-old man took the brash twenty-four-year-old vagabonds advice to heart.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

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.