badass
Americanadjective
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(of a person) difficult to deal with; mean-tempered and sometimes violent.
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so tough, assertive, or independent as to be somewhat intimidating.
He is one badass sheriff who stops at nothing to solve a mystery.
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awesome or impressive; worthy of admiration: a bluegrass band with a badass fiddler.
badass American sports cars;
a bluegrass band with a badass fiddler.
noun
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a mean-tempered troublemaker.
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a somewhat intimidating person who is tough, assertive, or independent.
She’s a corporate badass who knows her worth.
noun
adjective
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tough or aggressive
a badass rock band
-
excellent
a real badass watch
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of badass
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.
Just for a moment, I wanted to join the badass gang that made subversive movies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
The point being that I should not expect to be a badass street officer on Day 1.
From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026
It turns out Benedict Arnold was a certified badass for America.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2025
As the sweeping “O Fortuna” movement of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana thundered over the loudspeakers, he rose from underneath the stage while sitting on a badass, none-more-black throne decorated with skulls and a gigantic bat.
From Salon • Jul. 26, 2025
“Wasn’t it your foster mom who swooped in with the badass rescue?”
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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.
