bodacious
Americanadjective
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South Midland and Southern U.S. thorough; blatant; unmistakable.
a bodacious gossip.
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Slang.
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remarkable; outstanding.
a bodacious story.
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audacious; bold or brazen.
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sexy; voluptuous.
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adjective
Other Word Forms
- bodaciously adverb
Etymology
Origin of bodacious
1835–45; probably to be identified with dial. (Devon, Cornwall) bo(w)ldacious brazen, impudent, blend of bold and audacious
Explanation
When you announced to the CEO of the company where you had your first job that you were going to have his job before you retired, it was a bodacious move. Bodacious means bold, audacious, and brazen. Sometimes it can mean attractive and sexy as well. The adjective bodacious is probably a blend of the words bold and audacious. It's a southern term, associated for a time with surfers, who might admire a particularly "bodacious wave." That sense of admiration may be what's connected the word to its secondary meaning of attractive or sexy, as in "that party is going to be filled with bodacious babes."
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.
That’s exactly the type of bodacious, big data center—AI-driven data-center project—that he’s looking for,’” Perry recounted.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
A bower of roses, fragrant herbs and bodacious blooms might set one gardener’s heart aflutter, while another finds the sweet spot among spiky agaves, exotic palms or a bountiful row of summer raspberries.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024
That illusion is of ignorance, of imagining a better world full of whimsy and bodacious thrills where nothing bad ever happens.
From Salon • Aug. 7, 2022
It’s the turtles at their most bodacious — lighthearted, chaotic and approachably humorous.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2022
“All right, all you bodacious babies, terrific toddlers, glorious grade schoolers, magnificent middle schoolers, and tremendous teens, let me hear you!” the emcee said, and the audience roared.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
