1
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: ready to cause or get into trouble : mean
pretending to be a badass gunslinger—
L. L. King
L. L. King2
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: of formidable strength or skill
such a badass guitar player—N'Gai Croal
N'Gai Croal
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: a person who is badass
Examples of badass in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nick Caruso, TVLine, 2 Aug. 2025
And then, of course, there's the Disney legend from The Princess and the Frog, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Dreamgirls in the badass role of a future Black Panther.
—EW.com, 1 Aug. 2025
In the sequel, which premiered on Netflix on July 2, Nile is more confident, badass, and daring.
—Taryn Finley, refinery29.com, 10 July 2025
Will Twisted Metal viewers ever learn the real name of Quiet, the badass car thief played by Stephanie Beatriz?
—EW.com, 25 July 2025
The 44-year-old Texan has worn badass on his sleeve from the get-go, cutting the coolest figure in country music for the better part of a decade in his brash voice, hard-living lyrics, and modern long-haired outlaw.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 25 July 2025
Nobody was more badass to crank up on our speakers than the one and only prince of darkness - Ozzy Osborne!
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 July 2025
That line provided a nice callback to one of Erica’s signature moments while also underscoring just how badass the feat of piloting that Gorn ship was (and perhaps a hint of what it’s taken out of her).
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 17 July 2025
Philomena star Sophie Kennedy Clarke leads as the Lady of the Lake—a magical badass with anger issues after King Arthur made an unwanted pass and then ran off with her sword.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 16 July 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
So is there mutual respect between these two badass Challenge staples Bananas and Cara?
—Nick Caruso, TVLine, 2 Aug. 2025
And then, of course, there's the Disney legend from The Princess and the Frog, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Dreamgirls in the badass role of a future Black Panther.
—EW.com, 1 Aug. 2025
In the sequel, which premiered on Netflix on July 2, Nile is more confident, badass, and daring.
—Taryn Finley, refinery29.com, 10 July 2025
Will Twisted Metal viewers ever learn the real name of Quiet, the badass car thief played by Stephanie Beatriz?
—EW.com, 25 July 2025
The 44-year-old Texan has worn badass on his sleeve from the get-go, cutting the coolest figure in country music for the better part of a decade in his brash voice, hard-living lyrics, and modern long-haired outlaw.
—Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 25 July 2025
Nobody was more badass to crank up on our speakers than the one and only prince of darkness - Ozzy Osborne!
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 July 2025
That line provided a nice callback to one of Erica’s signature moments while also underscoring just how badass the feat of piloting that Gorn ship was (and perhaps a hint of what it’s taken out of her).
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 17 July 2025
Philomena star Sophie Kennedy Clarke leads as the Lady of the Lake—a magical badass with anger issues after King Arthur made an unwanted pass and then ran off with her sword.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 16 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Badass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badass. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share