Valiant

//ˈvæliənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A person who acts with valour, showing hero-like characteristics in the midst of danger. obsolete

    "Cowards dye many times before their deaths, The valiant neuer taſte of death but once: [...]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Possessing or showing courage or determination; brave, heroic.

    "A valiant man’s look is more than a coward’s sword."

  2. 2
    Characterized by or done with bravery or valour.

    "another valiant attempt at rescue"

Adjective
  1. 1
    having or showing valor wordnet

Example

More examples

"The statue of the Minute Man commemorates the valiant soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War."

Etymology

From Middle English vailaunt (“having or showing courage or valour, valiant; characterized by valour; powerful, strong; person of valour or strength; excellent, worthy; beneficial, useful; valuable; legally valid, binding”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vaillaunt, vaylant [and other forms], and Old French vailant, vaillant (“brave, valiant; having value, valuable”) [and other forms], from the present participle of valoir (“to have value; to be worth”), from Latin valēre (“to have value; to be worth; to be strong; to have influence or power”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“powerful, strong; to rule”).

Related phrases

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