brash
Americanadjective
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impertinent; impudent; tactless.
a brash young man.
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- Synonyms:
- precipitate, foolhardy, imprudent, overhasty, reckless
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energetic or highly spirited, especially in an irreverent way; zesty.
a brash new musical.
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(used especially of wood) brittle.
adjective
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tastelessly or offensively loud, showy, or bold
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hasty; rash
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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:
He hasn't done himself any favours with the way he communicates in public – easily irritable and brash.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Still, for many of the 200,000 Angelenos who voted for Pratt, his brash, social media-fueled campaign was not just a long exercise in trolling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
The brash, blunt style he used in reshaping the company also manifested itself in how he spoke to the outside world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Rollins, reflecting on his nearly seven-decade career in the 2016 interview with AFP, said he had perhaps been too brash with the legends around him.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
I get up to fill the kettle, but a brash alarm rings across the camp, vibrating through the trailer.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Aukerman, now with a much brasher energy, starts needling Mantzoukas, who bandies jokes back across the net.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2024
But if, two years after ChatGPT’s debut, Apple’s biggest rollouts fall into the same PR nightmares that its brasher rivals are still overcoming, what does that say about Big Tech’s biggest bet?
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2024
When Rupert took the paper over, he used bigger headlines and brasher stories to blow away his competitors.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2023
But recent months have showed a shift away from the brasher campaigning.
From Reuters ● Jul. 7, 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
Having appeared at three Ryder Cups, where he has been one of the brashest characters on the American team, Reed’s decision could see him ineligible for selection in the future.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 11, 2022
He shrieked at Conway in particular, mentioning his marriage to one of Trump’s brashest aides.
From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2020
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.
