1
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: ready to cause or get into trouble : mean
pretending to be a badass gunslinger—
L. L. King
L. L. King2
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: of formidable strength or skill
such a badass guitar player—N'Gai Croal
N'Gai Croal
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: a person who is badass
Examples of badass in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Keith Phipps, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
The actress, born Margaret Denise Quigley, has played badass leading women throughout her career, including the titular rogue assassin in the CW’s Nikita and FBI Agent Hannah Wells in the ABC/Netflix political drama, Designated Survivor, to name a few.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
The clever, original storyline centers on the adventures of Huntr/x, a trio comprised of K-pop superstars Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zooey (Ji-young Yoo) who use their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2025
Amid the chaos is a quartet of badass girls, including Hari Nef’s Bex, who wields a nail gun like nobody’s business.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 22 Aug. 2025
Nobody was more badass to crank up on our speakers than the one and only prince of darkness - Ozzy Osborne!
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025
Katie Rife, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025
The blood and visceral imagery plays an important role of not only setting the oppressive tone, but also in establishing your character as an absolute badass.
—David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
So, thanks to the writers who write this action in and give stunt women the opportunity to be badass.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2025
Much of the first film’s pleasure came from the gradual reveal that its unassuming, middle-aged central character was in fact the sort of badass who can overcome gangs of lethally armed men half his age.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
So is there mutual respect between these two badass Challenge staples Bananas and Cara?
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 2 Aug. 2025
And then, of course, there's the Disney legend from The Princess and the Frog, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Dreamgirls in the badass role of a future Black Panther.
—EW.com, 1 Aug. 2025
But, uh, Shelby Stanger: all the things in Yosemite, that sounds pretty badass.
—Outside Online, 23 July 2025
In the sequel, which premiered on Netflix on July 2, Nile is more confident, badass, and daring.
—Taryn Finley, refinery29.com, 10 July 2025
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Adjective
La’an unintentionally confirms his suspicions — or at least is edited to confirm those suspicions — by talking about how Starfleet sometimes has to kill to secure peace, then striking badass poses during target practice.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2025
The actress, born Margaret Denise Quigley, has played badass leading women throughout her career, including the titular rogue assassin in the CW’s Nikita and FBI Agent Hannah Wells in the ABC/Netflix political drama, Designated Survivor, to name a few.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
The clever, original storyline centers on the adventures of Huntr/x, a trio comprised of K-pop superstars Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong) and Zooey (Ji-young Yoo) who use their secret identities as badass demon hunters to protect their fans from an ever-present supernatural threat.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2025
Amid the chaos is a quartet of badass girls, including Hari Nef’s Bex, who wields a nail gun like nobody’s business.
—Samantha Allen, Them., 22 Aug. 2025
Nobody was more badass to crank up on our speakers than the one and only prince of darkness - Ozzy Osborne!
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025
Noun
And each approached the figure of the gun-toting, knife-wielding badass from her own point of view, creating archetypes that are still in use today.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 20 Aug. 2025
The blood and visceral imagery plays an important role of not only setting the oppressive tone, but also in establishing your character as an absolute badass.
—David Jagneaux, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
So, thanks to the writers who write this action in and give stunt women the opportunity to be badass.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 18 Aug. 2025
Much of the first film’s pleasure came from the gradual reveal that its unassuming, middle-aged central character was in fact the sort of badass who can overcome gangs of lethally armed men half his age.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2025
So is there mutual respect between these two badass Challenge staples Bananas and Cara?
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 2 Aug. 2025
And then, of course, there's the Disney legend from The Princess and the Frog, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Dreamgirls in the badass role of a future Black Panther.
—EW.com, 1 Aug. 2025
But, uh, Shelby Stanger: all the things in Yosemite, that sounds pretty badass.
—Outside Online, 23 July 2025
In the sequel, which premiered on Netflix on July 2, Nile is more confident, badass, and daring.
—Taryn Finley, refinery29.com, 10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Badass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badass. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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