bodacious
adjective
Did you know?
Some of our readers may know bodacious as a word that figured prominently in the lingo of the 1989 film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Others may recall the term's frequent use in the long-running "Snuffy Smith" comic strip. Neither the creators of the comic strip nor the movie can claim to have coined bodacious, which began appearing in print in the mid-1800s, but both surely contributed to its popularity. The exact origin of the word is uncertain, but it is most likely a blend of bold and audacious, and it may be linked to boldacious, a now-rare British dialect term meaning "brazen" or "impudent."
Examples of bodacious in a Sentence
Darren Franich, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2025
Okay, okay — even though my spindly frame and past-his-prime age both immediately disqualify me from membership in this band of bodacious biceps, I am intrigued.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Others suspected there was more history to the bodacious look.
—Rosa Rahimi, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2025
The man drenches her body in petroleum, then uses it to make expressionist paintings that decorate his bodacious seaside villa.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bodacious
Cite this Entry
“Bodacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bodacious. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share