ballsy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ballsy
1955–60; balls (in the sense “boldness, courage, brashness”) + -y 1; cf. -sy
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:
“They’re pretty ballsy, but they know what they’re doing.”
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 25, 2023
“One intensely sad and angry and insecure, the other a ballsy bravado performance for public consumption.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2023
"I walked by it, and I thought that going for it was going to be ballsy, but the fact that he pulled it off and even had a birdie look was just incredible."
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2022
“It was ballsy and real,” the literary agent and author Bill Clegg said in an email.
From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2020
“Pretty ballsy talk for someone who can’t swim.”
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
But I’m also richer, more powerful and ballsier than everyone else.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2016
You might expect J. Edgar to trump The Private Files with even ballsier revelations or, taking the high road, more elevated insights.
From Time ● Nov. 8, 2011
It’s something Jensen calls “the ballsiest thing I’ve ever seen a person do.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2025
You said earlier to me that people say you're ballsy because you met with El Chapo, but this is the ballsiest thing you've ever done.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2019
Yet there Ibaka was, suited up and ready to play Game 3, one of the quickest recoveries, worst misdiagnoses or ballsiest team fabrications in NBA playoff history.
From The Guardian ● May 28, 2014
“I think it's probably one of the ballsiest moves that has ever been made in the history of the hip-hop business,” says hip-hop historian Jeff Chang, author of the book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.
From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2014
The result is the blackest, ballsiest political comedy since Dr. Strangelove.
From Time ● Nov. 19, 2010
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