brash
Americanadjective
-
brasher,
comparative
-
brashest
superlative
-
impertinent; impudent; tactless.
a brash young man.
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- Synonyms:
- precipitate, foolhardy, imprudent, overhasty, reckless
-
energetic or highly spirited, especially in an irreverent way; zesty.
a brash new musical.
-
(used especially of wood) brittle.
adjective
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tastelessly or offensively loud, showy, or bold
-
hasty; rash
-
impudent
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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”; see dash 1; (adjective) in the sense “brittle” is derivative of the noun; in the sense “hasty” by confusion with rash 1
Explanation
Brash sounds like what it means: harsh, loud, and maybe a little rude. Sometimes that’s good, like when you have a serious rash on your face and give Aunt Nell a brash warning before she showers you with kisses. There's nothing warm and fuzzy about brash. New Yorkers are sometimes thought of as the poster children for brash behavior: they can be bold and brazen. Pushy even. You might find brashness offensive, or maybe you think it's refreshingly direct. If you're a cab driver, a tough exterior might be useful, but being brash probably won’t advance your career if you work in a hotel, where you’re supposed to be polite and welcoming.
Vocabulary lists containing brash
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 5
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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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:
Artists from the 1960s to the current day are included, reorienting the genre’s typical framing as a brash boy’s club.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Before his legal troubles, Shkreli was viewed as a brash outsider.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
“A.I. company makes big, brash economic claim” isn’t surprising, but these stories were striking because of the medium involved.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
Led by brash American coach Jesse Marsch, the team surprised many by fighting into the round of 16 - the furthest they've ever gone in the tournament - before being defeated by Morocco.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Her voice had lost the brash confidence she usually had.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
But her very existence gave a certain kind of young woman a compelling model of how to be a brasher, less apologetic, more feminist person in the world.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026
Some of the newer arrivals like Steve Biggers, a transplant from Nashville and a tea party member, brought a brasher style of politics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024
But recent months have showed a shift away from the brasher campaigning.
From Reuters ● Jul. 7, 2023
The show was launched in 2002 by presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, envisioned as a brasher version of the earlier and altogether more genteel motoring programme it takes its name from.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2023
It was an institution for girls near my house, and the young ladies were faster, brasher, meaner and more prejudiced than any I had met at Lafayette County Training School.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
The planet’s brashest sport had arrived at what is putatively “The People’s House” to deliver a night of branded mayhem to the head of state, like gladiators bequeathed to an emperor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
But the brashest experiments in cut-rate flying might subside for years, given shortages of pilots, airport slots, and just about everything else they depend upon.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
As a pro wrestler, Drew McIntyre is one of WWE's biggest and brashest villains.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2025
“It’s a bad idea and I’m all about it,” Julien Baker announces in “$20,” the album’s brashest rocker, which leaps around with hard-strummed, odd-meter guitar riffs.
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2023
The evening dented the resume of Paddack, who has made waves as one of baseball’s brightest, brashest new arrivals.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2019
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
