bold

bold

adjective

Definition of BOLD

1

inclined or willing to take risks <our youngest brother was the boldest one in the family, instantly taking to everything from skiing to skateboarding>

Synonyms adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, daring, dashing, emboldened, enterprising, free-swinging, gutsy, hardy, nerved, nervy, venturesome, venturous

Related Words brash, daredevil, foolhardy, heedless, hotheaded, impetuous, imprudent, impulsive, incautious, madcap, overbold, overconfident, rash, reckless, thoughtless, wild; brave, courageous, dauntless, fearless, gallant, greathearted, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, swashbuckling, unafraid, undaunted, valiant, valorous; gritty, plucky, spirited, spunky; gadarene, hasty, headlong, precipitate; absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, crazy, foolish, half-witted, harebrained, insane, lunatic, mad, nutty, scatterbrained, silly, wacky (also whacky), witless; unnecessary; dumb, idiotic (also idiotical), moronic, stupid; irrational, unreasonable

Near Antonyms chickenhearted, coward, cowardly, craven, lily-livered, milk-livered, milky, poltroon, pusillanimous, shy, timid, timorous; careful, cautious, heedful, prudent, wary; overcareful, overcautious; affrighted, afraid, alarmed, fainthearted, fearful, frightened, horrified, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized; unnerved; calm, cool, levelheaded, rational, reasonable, sage, sane, sensible, sound, wise; appalled, concerned, dismayed, upset, worried

Antonyms unadventurous, unenterprising

2

displaying or marked by rude boldness <you're a bold little brat for trying to steal my stuff while I'm right here>

Synonyms arch, audacious, bold, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, brazen-faced, cheeky, cocksure, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, sassy, saucy, wise

Related Words assertive, forward, obtrusive; audacious, defiant, disrespectful; shameless, unabashed, unblushing; bluff, blunt, curt; cute, facetious, flip, flippant, pert, smart, smart-aleck, smart-alecky; lippy, mouthy

Near Antonyms demure, humble, modest; courteous, genteel, mannerly, polite, proper; deferential, respectful; abashed, ashamed, blushing, embarrassed, shamefaced; gentle, mild; inconspicuous, unobtrusive

Antonyms meek, mousy (or mousey), retiring, shy, timid

3

likely to attract attention <an interior decorator who likes to use bold colors>

Synonyms arresting, bodacious, bold, brilliant, catchy, commanding, conspicuous, dramatic, emphatic, eye-catching, flamboyant, grabby, kenspeckle [chiefly Scottish], marked, noisy, prominent, pronounced, remarkable, showy, splashy, striking

Related Words detectable, discernible (also discernable), observable, perceptible, recognizable, visible; outstanding, salient; distinguished, eminent, impressive, notable, noteworthy; highlighted, spotlighted; flagrant, glaring, howling, screaming; flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, jazzy, loud, meretricious, swank (or swanky), tawdry; highfalutin (also hifalutin), ostentatious, pretentious; extravagant, fancy, florid, glittery, spectacular; opulent, ornate, overdone, overwrought; absorbing, engrossing, enthralling, fascinating, interesting, riveting

Near Antonyms subtle; concealed, hidden, shrouded; dim, faint, obscure; insignificant, undistinguished, unimportant; modest, unaffected, unassuming, unpretentious; conservative, plain, quiet, simple, understated; muted, restrained, subdued, subtle, toned-down, unflashy

Antonyms inconspicuous, unemphatic, unflamboyant, unnoticeable, unobtrusive, unremarkable, unshowy

4

showing a lack of proper social reserve or modesty <a bold child who interrupts the adults at his parents' parties>

Synonyms bold, familiar, forward, free, immodest, overfamiliar, presuming

Related Words arrogant, bumptious, complacent, conceited, egoistic (also egoistical), egomaniacal, egotistic (or egotistical), highfalutin (also hifalutin), high-and-mighty, high-hat, hoity-toity, important, overweening, pompous, prideful, proud, self-asserting, self-assertive, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-important, self-satisfied, smug, uppity, vain, vainglorious; cavalier, disdainful, haughty, lordly, pretentious, snobbish, stuck-up, supercilious, superior; audacious, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, cheeky, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, overbold, pert, sassy, saucy; confident, self-assured, self-confident, sure; boastful, braggart, bragging; domineering, high-handed, imperious; self-absorbed, self-centered, self-concerned, self-engrossed, self-infatuated, self-interested, self-involved, selfish, self-obsessed, self-seeking

Near Antonyms demure, down-to-earth, humble, lowly, meek, unassertive, unpretentious; bashful, mousy (or mousey), retiring, shy, timid, timorous; diffident, self-doubting

Antonyms modest, unassuming

5

having an incline approaching the perpendicular <the advanced climbers chose a bold cliff to test themselves>

Synonyms abrupt, bold, precipitous, sheer

Related Words perpendicular, plumb, straight, vertical; craggy, hillocky, hilly, mountainous, scarped; angled, canted, cocked, heeled, inclined, listed, slanted, sloped, tilted, tipped

Near Antonyms gentle, gradual, moderate, soft; even, flat, flush, horizontal, level, plane, smooth, unruffled, unwrinkled

Antonyms easy

6

feeling or displaying no fear by temperament <the bold explorers who will someday journey to other planets>

Synonyms bold, courageous, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, gutsy, gutty, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, manful, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, undauntable, undaunted, valiant, valorous

Related Words determined, firm, game, gamy (or gamey), gritty, plucky, resolute, Spartan, undeterred, undismayed, unflinching, unswerving; mettlesome, spirited, spunky; adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, daring, dashing, hardy, venturesome, venturous; crazy, foolish, half-witted, insane, lunatic, mad, nutty; brash, brazen, daredevil, foolhardy, heedless, hotheaded, impetuous, imprudent, impulsive, incautious, madcap, overbold, overconfident, rash, reckless, thoughtless, wild; hasty, headlong, precipitate; comforted, emboldened, encouraged, heartened, reassured, unafraid

Near Antonyms diffident, mousy (or mousey), scary, shy, skittish, timid; anxious, apprehensive, nervous; careful, cautious, heedful, prudent, unadventurous; afraid, agitated, disconcerted, disquieted, disturbed, frightened, horrified, panicked, panic-stricken, perturbed, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, unnerved, upset; appalled, concerned, dismayed, worried; unmanly, weak, wimpy

Antonyms chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, coward, cowardly, craven, dastardly, fainthearted, fearful, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered [archaic], nerveless, poltroon, poor-spirited, pusillanimous, spineless, spiritless, timorous, uncourageous, ungallant, unheroic, weakhearted, yellow