brazen

[brey-zuhn]

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

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

/ ˈbreɪzən /

adjective

1. shameless and bold

2. made of or resembling brass

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

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of brazen¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of brazen¹

Old English bræsen , from bræs _brass

Synonym Study

See bold.

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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

Read more on BBC

“A federal court just stopped one of the most brazen attempts to steal our democracy that Texas has ever seen,” said Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu in a statement.

Read more on Salon

"Every brazen attack against ordinary life shows that the pressure on Russia is insufficient," he said.

Read more on Barron's

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

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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