brassy

[bras-ee, brah-see]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brassy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, brass·i·er, brass·i·est.

made of or covered with brass.

resembling brass, as in color.

harsh and metallic: brassy tones.

brazen; bold; loud.

noisy; clamorous: a big, brassy nightclub.

Origin of brassy

First recorded in 1570–80; brass + -y¹

Related formsbrass·i·ly, adverbbrass·i·ness, noun

Synonyms for brassy

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brassy ON THESAURUS.COM

4. insolent, saucy, forward, cheeky, brash.

Antonyms for brassy

4. modest, shy, retiring.

brassy

[bras-ee, brah-see]

noun, plural brass·ies. Golf.

brassie.

brassie

or brass·y, brass·ey

[bras-ee, brah-see]

noun Golf.

a club with a wooden head, the brass-plated face of which has more slope than a driver but less than a spoon, for hitting long, low drives on the fairway.

Origin of brassie

First recorded in 1885–90; brass + -ie

Also called number two wood.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for brassy

brash, bold, blaring, gaudy, rude, piercing, jazzy, flashy, jarring, shrill, arrant, barefaced, blatant, brazen, flirtatious, forward, garish, grating, hard, harsh

Examples from the Web for brassy

Contemporary Examples of brassy

That brassy ploy had caught the Costa Ricans entirely off-guard and had knocked them off their stride.
Argentina Drops the Netherlands on Penalties in World Cup Semifinal
Tunku Varadarajan
July 10, 2014
The brassy Baptist says AIDS is spread through gay men who wear sharp rings to draw blood out of their targets.
Five OTHER Outrageous Pat Robertson Theories
Caitlin Dickson
August 28, 2013
“His films are brassy, anachronistic,” says Rex Roberts, associate editor with Film International.
‘Great Gatsby’ Reviewers Divided: Is Baz Luhrmann a Good Director?
Kevin Fallon
May 9, 2013
It's inspired by the women she sees on Tumblr who are "bright, brash, and brassy," she explains.
The Plus-Size Blogging Craze
Judy McGuire
February 13, 2013
The brassy comedienne of one of daytime's biggest gabfests now has her own hit talk show on HLN.
Joy Behar's New Point of View
Kevin Sessums
May 12, 2010

Historical Examples of brassy

The morning of the election the sun heaved up on a brassy sky.
Quaint Courtships
Various
Thank you, Brassy, but I do not care to accept your services.
Buffalo Bill's Spy Trailer
Colonel Prentiss Ingraham
No, I think not, for Brassy prescribed for himself and I administered the medicine.
Buffalo Bill's Spy Trailer
Colonel Prentiss Ingraham
For a moment the bold, brassy look was gone from her face, like a mask that had slipped.
Space Prison
Tom Godwin
You will hardly get it away with a brassy; if I were you I should play my niblick.
IT and Other Stories
Gouverneur Morris

British Dictionary definitions for brassy

brassy

adjective brassier or brassiest

insolent; brazen

flashy; showy

(of sound) harsh, strident, or resembling the sound of a brass instrument

like brass, esp in colour

decorated with or made of brass

a variant spelling of brassie

Derived Formsbrassily, adverbbrassiness, noun

brassie

brassy

noun plural brassies

golf a former name for a club, a No. 2 wood, originally having a brass-plated sole and with a shallower face than a driver to give more loft

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for brassy

adj.

"impudent," 1570s, from brass + -y (2). Cf. brazen. Sense of "debased and pretentious" is from 1580s, from brass as contrasted with gold; sense of "strident and artificial" is from 1865. Related: Brassily; brassiness.