courageous
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does courageous mean? Courageous means having, showing, or done with courage—the quality of being ready and willing to face negative situations involving danger or pain.Courageous can be used to describe people who have courage, or the actions of such people when they face negative situations resolutely. A close synonym is brave.Being courageous is often thought of as facing such situations without fear, but it also involves facing them despite fear. In other words, someone who’s courageous might not be fearless, but they face the dangerous, difficult, or frightening situation anyway.Example: I especially want to thank our courageous first responders, who face danger every day but still, somehow, decide to show up and put the wellbeing of other people before their own safety.
Related Words
See brave.
Other Word Forms
- courageously adverb
- courageousness noun
- uncourageous adjective
- uncourageously adverb
- uncourageousness noun
Etymology
Origin of courageous
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English corageous, from Anglo-French curajous, Old French corageus, from corage courage + -eus -eous
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.
Lebanon's government has acted against Iranian interests and withdrew its approval of the Iranian ambassador's accreditation on Tuesday, a decision Barrot hailed as "courageous".
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
“We need to understand that they were very courageous to speak out.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
The school's 140 students as well as "our amazing staff, our courageous teachers, and our heroic security personnel" were all accounted for and safe, according to the statement.
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026
The band called the record “. . .an immediate response to current events and inspired by the many extraordinary and courageous people fighting on the frontlines of freedom.”
From Salon • Mar. 10, 2026
“He’s a royal treasure of the Amazons —to be claimed only by our most courageous warrior, if you believe the prophecy.”
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
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.
