valiant

[val-yuhnt]

adjective

1. boldly courageous; brave; stout-hearted.

   a valiant soldier.

   Synonyms: dauntless, valorous

2. marked by or showing bravery or valor; heroic.

   to make a valiant effort.

3. worthy; excellent.

valiant

/ ˈvæljənt /

adjective

1. courageous, intrepid, or stout-hearted; brave

2. marked by bravery or courage

   a valiant deed

Other Word Forms

• valiantly adverb
• valiantness noun
• overvaliant adjective
• overvaliantness noun
• unvaliant adjective
• unvaliantness noun
• valiance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of valiant¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English valia(u)nt, from Anglo-French; Middle French vaillant, present participle of valoir “to be of worth,” Latin valēre; -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of valiant¹

C14: from Old French vaillant, from valoir to be of value, from Latin valēre to be strong

Synonym Study

See brave.

Example Sentences

The archive also reveals how Kretzmer tried out various other words first, including "valiant" and "fearless", before deciding on "angry".

Read more on BBC

Journalism, running for the first time against older horses, ran to a valiant second place in the $1-million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Saturday.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A Canadian man dug through piles of rubbish at his local dump in a valiant, romantic - and ultimately successful - effort to find his wife's accidentally discarded wedding rings.

Read more on BBC

“They continue to be the valiant, productive workers they are with us,” Carvalho said last week.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

When the final whistle blew on a blisteringly hot Athens night where Rangers had at points been both tremendously valiant and desperately vulnerable, Russell Martin's side had ultimately got what they came for.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• courageous 
• fearless 
• gallant 
• gutsy 
• heroic 
• indomitable 
• intrepid 
• noble 
• plucky 
• stout 
• strong-willed 
• vigorous