badassery

noun

bad·​ass·​e·​ry ˈbad-ˈa-sə-rē 

1

chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite : the state or condition of being a badass : a badass quality or character

Back then, Matt Damon … wasn't exactly anyone's idea of an action star. … But his newfound badassery turned The Bourne Identity into a sleeper hit …

—Chris Nashawaty

2

chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite : actions or behaviors characteristic of a badass

There's crazy stunts. … you're going to see her do a bunch of badassery.

—Leslie Grace, quoted in Variety

She enjoys giving a speech to a roomful of Hollywood heavy hitters. She practices "badassery" in all things.

—Meredith Maran

No way I'm missing a single second of Rolling Stones or Guns N' Roses badassery.

—Matt Wake

Examples of badassery in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gone is the callow rage and aspirations of badassery that prompted them to write Leviathan about Moby-Dick. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026

And badassery comes with vulnerability and sensitivity and self-compassion. — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 17 Apr. 2026

Lee might have foreseen the appeal of Norris’s peculiar blend of Okie familiarity and hyperbolic badassery before Norris did. — Chris Klimek, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026

The next month, GLAAD would receive the Governor’s Award at the Emmys, for their important work and general badassery. — Dan Ewen, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2025

And in the new retelling, that badassery is clear from the very first moments. — Patricia Alfonso Tortolani, Allure, 18 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

badass entry 1 + -ery

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for badassery

• brasserie