adjective
-
shameless and bold
-
made of or resembling brass
-
having a ringing metallic sound like that of a brass trumpet
verb
-
to face and overcome boldly or shamelessly
the witness brazened out the prosecutor's questions
-
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“To have this intensely coherent collection disturbed by this brazen theft is a tragedy.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
In one of the most brazen heists attributed to the comm, Malone Lam, a 20-year-old Singaporean national who was then living in Los Angeles, allegedly stole $248 million in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
On Tuesday, des Cars sent her resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, which was accepted, following a string of scandals including the brazen theft of French crown jewels valued at $100 million in October.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
There is a particular kind of hypocrisy so brazen, so cartoonishly on-the-nose, that it almost defies satire.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026
For all its undoubted sincerity, Oppenheimer’s letter displayed a brazen disingenuousness, perhaps its author’s chief character flaw.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
