bracing

adjective

brac·​ing ˈbrā-siŋ How to pronounce bracing (audio)
: giving strength, vigor, or freshness
a bracing breeze
bracingly adverb

Examples of bracing in a Sentence

a chilly but bracing day
Recent Examples on the Web Its pale green color is the natural result of steeping lemon balm and hyssop in the spirit, and it’s bottled at a bracing 130 proof. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 8 Mar. 2024 Their more bracing bitterness plays well in spicy foods, such as fajitas, or rich ones, such as pizza. Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2023 If Haugen’s Facebook files were a bracing exposé of the algorithms powering the globe’s largest social network, her new memoir is a series of softer intimations, revealing the person behind the documents. Gabriela Riccardi, Quartz, 6 July 2023 Lionel Shriver London Shane’s essay is a bracing call to arms in the post-Dobbs moment, unapologetically affirming the right of pregnant people to terminate their pregnancies. Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 21 Dec. 2022 Those horror elements and intrusions from Death provide a bracing sense of unease and distance. Vulture, 5 June 2023 But there is nothing more bracing — and vitalizing — than immersing yourself in an unforgiving environment. Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times, 10 May 2023 Two-and-three-quarters lengths behind him came the hardworking show horse, Jace’s Road, also a Cox-trainee, who had gone off (in London) at a bracing 31-5, or a shade higher than 6-1. Guy Martin, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2023 What follows is a bracing nerd moment. WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bracing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1752, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bracing was in 1752

Dictionary Entries Near bracing

Cite this Entry

“Bracing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bracing. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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