badass

1 of 2

adjective

bad·​ass ˈbad-ˌas 

1

chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite : ready to cause or get into trouble : mean

a badass criminal who should be put away for life

… casting Henry Fonda against type as a remorseless badass gunslinger …

—Laurence Phelan

2

chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite : of formidable strength or skill

… such a badass guitar player …

—N'Gai Croal

badass

2 of 2

noun

chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite

: a person who is badass

Examples of badass in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

But these posts primarily look like an effort to establish a liberal-badass persona with standing to take on Trump-supporting gun nuts. — Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026

Keanu Reeves stars as hacker Neo, who discovers that humanity’s been enslaved by a malevolent cyber-intelligence and joins up with badass rebels Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) to fight back. — Sara Netzley, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026

Noun

Once at the house, Paula tries to be a badass by punching through a basement window with Hazel’s shirt wrapped around her fist. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 1 July 2026

Here's a wish-fulfillment political fantasy, with Harrison Ford as a bipartisan badass every American can agree on. — Kevin P. Sullivan, Entertainment Weekly, 26 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1956, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for badass

• alas
• amass
• bromegrass
• bypass
• crabgrass
• crevasse
• eelgrass
• eyeglass
• groundmass
• harass
• impasse
• jackass