bravura

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noun bra·vu·ra \ brə-ˈvyu̇r-ə , brä- , -ˈvu̇r- \

Definition of bravura

1 music :a musical passage requiring exceptional agility and technical skill in execution

2 :a florid brilliant style

3 :a show of daring or brilliance

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Recent Examples of bravura from the Web

The latter worked well at the Homestead show even without the bravura closing note that Garfunkel, then 28, soared with on the original 1970 recording.

— howard cohen, miamiherald, "Art Garfunkel is still feuding, still talking (and singing) after all these years," 18 Aug. 2017
In a work that calls for considerable bravura, the pianist easily tackled blizzards of runs and bombastic octaves.

— janelle gelfand, Cincinnati.com, "Chamber Orchestra's celestial concert is out of this world," 15 Aug. 2017
The Who, like its musical peers (Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Elton John), before them, had successfully weathered a vintage foggy night at the festival to deliver a bravura performance.

— jon swartz, USA TODAY, "The Who deliver blistering show in a fog at OutsideLands," 14 Aug. 2017
The violinist rewarded the cheering throng with an additional explosion of bravura fiddle playing in his encore, Niccolo Paganini’s Caprice No.

— john von rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Brilliant fiddle virtuoso, choral rarity, lend cachet to Ravinia, Grant Park concerts," 30 July 2017
Cameron’s technological advances and universe-building bravura forced Besson to try harder, which can only be a good thing since Valerian—

— chris lee, Newsweek, "Not a Marvel Movie: 'Valerian' Director on His Epic and Expensive Sci-Fi Adapted From a Graphic Novel," 5 July 2017
The fictional series tells that grim story with a bravura energy that recalls films by Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Snowfall': Superb series explores how crack began," 1 July 2017
His bravura is balanced nicely by the drier humor of Michael J. Smith as Sitting Bull.

— NOLA.com, "Tuneful 'Annie Get Your Gun' hits bull's eye at Tulane Summer Lyric," 21 June 2017
Rogers had a bravura season in 2017, winning NCAA championships in the 800 indoors and outdoors.

— ken goe, OregonLive.com, "Five-time NCAA 800 champ Raevyn Rogers of the Oregon Ducks is a finalist for The Bowerman," 21 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bravura.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bravura

Italian, literally, bravery, from bravare to show off — more at bravado

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1757

See Words from the same year

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, refrain, riff, segue

bravura

adjective

Definition of bravura

1 :marked by a dazzling display of skill

a bravura performance

2 :ornate, showy

bravura prose

Examples of bravura in a Sentence

a truly bravura performance of the ballet that brought the crowd to its feet

Origin and Etymology of bravura

adjective derivative of ¹bravura

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1920

See Words from the same year

bravura Synonyms

Synonyms

adroit, artful, skillful, deft, delicate, dexterous (also dextrous), expert, masterful, masterly, practiced (also practised), virtuoso, workmanlike

Antonyms

amateur, amateurish, artless, rude, unprofessional, unskillful

Related Words

facile, smooth; artistic, creative, fancy, ingenious, neat; adept, clever, cunning; able, adequate, capable, competent

Near Antonyms

awkward, clumsy, crude, klutzy; ineffective, ineffectual; incompetent, inept

BRAVURA Defined for English Language Learners

bravura

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noun

Definition of bravura for English Language Learners

: great skill and energy in doing something (such as performing on a stage)

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Definition of bravura

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Origin and Etymology of bravura

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BRAVURA Defined for English Language Learners

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