Brave

//bɹeɪv// adj, name, noun, verb

adj, name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A Native American warrior. dated
  2. 2
    people who are brave wordnet
  3. 3
    A man daring beyond discretion; a bully. obsolete

    "Hot Braves, like thee, may fight; but know not well / To manage this, the laſt great Stake of Hell."

  4. 4
    a North American Indian warrior wordnet
  5. 5
    A challenge; a defiance; bravado. obsolete

    "Demetrius, thou dost overween in all; / And so in this, to bear me down with braves."

Verb
  1. 1
    To encounter with courage and fortitude, to defy, to provoke. transitive

    "For Cassius is aweary of the world; Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother; Checked like a bondman; all his faults observed, Set in a notebook, learned, and conned by rote, To cast into my teeth."

  2. 2
    face and withstand with courage wordnet
  3. 3
    To adorn; to make fine or showy. obsolete, transitive

    "Face not me. Thou hast braved many men; brave not me. I will neither be faced nor braved."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Strong in the face of fear; courageous.

    "For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne."

  2. 2
    Having any sort of superiority or excellence. obsolete

    "Is it not paſſing braue to be a King, And ride in triumph through Perſepolis?"

  3. 3
    Making a fine show or display.

    "Their plumed helmes are wrought with beaten golde, Their ſwords enameld, and about their neckes Hangs maſſie chaines of golde downe to the waſte, In euery part exceding braue and rich."

  4. 4
    Foolish or unwise. UK, euphemistic
Adjective
  1. 1
    invulnerable to fear or intimidation wordnet
  2. 2
    possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching wordnet
  3. 3
    brightly colored and showy wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    A census-designated place in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
audaciousbrawcourageousgallantlionheartedmettlesome

Example

More examples

"Fortune is the rod of the weak, and the staff of the brave."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle French brave, borrowed from Italian bravo, itself of uncertain origin (see there). Doublet of bravo.

Etymology 2

From Middle French braver, from brave.

Related phrases

brave as a lionbrave new worldbrave outfortune favors the bravefortune favours the braveput a brave face onput on a brave facestunning and braveatlanta baseballhome ofland ofnative american

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.