bravura

1 of 2

noun

bra·​vu·​ra brə-ˈvyu̇r-ə 

brä-, 

-ˈvu̇r-

1

music : a musical passage requiring exceptional agility and technical skill in execution

2

: a florid brilliant style

3

: a show of daring or brilliance

bravura

2 of 2

adjective

1

: marked by a dazzling display of skill

a bravura performance

2

: ornate, showy

bravura prose

Synonyms of bravura

Adjective

• virtuoso
• artistic
• masterful
• skillful
• delicate
• expert

Examples of bravura in a Sentence

Adjective

a truly bravura performance of the ballet that brought the crowd to its feet

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Although The Beast in Me doesn’t entirely hold up as a series, the opening episode of this cat-and-mouse thriller offers some bravura directing and stellar performances. — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 25 June 2026

There’s action in the film, but most of those sequences, including a bravura fight scene set in a farmhouse that’s been set ablaze, take place in the first 30 minutes. — Brent Lang, Variety, 16 June 2026

Adjective

An interesting thing to me is that despite all of its bravura filmmaking technique, what makes the film resonate for people to this day is the character work. — Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 22 June 2026

Yet Disclosure Day also feels as much like an answer to Spielberg’s own War of the Worlds as his 1977 classic — and not just in the heedless forward momentum of its chase-heavy staging, recalling a bravura bit of highway speeding from the 2005 film. — Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Italian, literally, bravery, from bravare to show off — more at bravado

Adjective

adjective derivative of bravura entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1757, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bravura

• anura
• asura
• bandura
• caesura
• datura
• purpura
• sakura
• angostura
• coloratura
• crura
• dura
• pleura