brazen

American  

[brey-zuhn] / ˈbreɪ zən /

adjective

1. shameless or impudent.

   brazen presumption.

   Synonyms:

   brassy, defiant, insolent

2. made of brass.

3. like brass, as in sound, color, or strength.

   Synonyms:

   brassy

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verb (used with object)

1. to make brazen or bold.

verb phrase

1. brazen out / through to face boldly or shamelessly.

   He prefers to brazen it out rather than admit defeat.

brazen British  

/ ˈbreɪzən /

adjective

1. shameless and bold

2. made of or resembling brass

3. having a ringing metallic sound like that of a brass trumpet

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verb

1. to face and overcome boldly or shamelessly

   the witness brazened out the prosecutor's questions

2. to make (oneself, etc) bold or brash

Related Words

See bold.

Other Word Forms

• brazenly adverb
• brazenness noun
• outbrazen verb (used with object)
• unbrazen adjective
• unbrazenness noun

Etymology

Origin of brazen

First recorded before 1000; Middle English brasen (adjective), Old English bræsen “(made) of brass”; brass

Example Sentences

It’s huge, brazen and entangled with the seamy politics of migration and assimilation.

From The Wall Street Journal

And the old political playbook — confession, contrition, capitulation — is obviously no longer operative, as candidates find it not only possible but even advantageous to brazen their way through storms of uproar and opprobrium.

From Los Angeles Times

Manager Paul Paxton told BBC Scotland he was "shocked" at the brazen theft, which took place while people were walking past.

From BBC

What's more, he suggests, it's brazen: "There's no secret made about it."

From BBC

Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Counter Terrorism Division, said: "Phillips was brazen in his pursuit for financial gain, and unbothered about the potential detriment to his own country."

From BBC

Related Words

• audacious
• blatant
• bold
• impudent
• shameless
• unabashed