dashing

adjective

dash·​ing ˈda-shiŋ How to pronounce dashing (audio)
1
: marked by vigorous action : spirited
a dashing young horse
2
: marked by smartness especially in dress and manners
dashingly adverb

Examples of dashing in a Sentence

She married a dashing young lawyer from the city. a brave and dashing soldier The actor cuts a dashing figure as a young Jack Kennedy.
Recent Examples on the Web Dressed in a man’s dapper suit, Kim Morgan Dean plays Hastings with plucky earnestness and dashing style. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2023 Instead, he’s played by Emmy Award winner Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, at his most dashing and heroic, spinning swords and swinging onto stages. Zoe Haylock, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2021 LAWs are not the dashing and glamorous surface combatants from the Navy’s stockpile of great sea stories. Craig Hooper, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023 With Ariya, Nissan seems determined to erase memories of Leaf with its more dashing Ariya sibling. cleveland, 4 Feb. 2023 Over the years, her co-stars also included Europe’s most dashing male stars of the era, among them Louis Jourdan, Fernando Rey, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Alec Guinness. Dallas News, 17 Jan. 2023 However, the cracks start to show in their relationship when Josh's ex Chloe (Anna Faris) turns up, and Nat meets a dashing man at work. Amy MacKelden, ELLE, 1 Jan. 2023 The dashing and talented Seth Mnookin—author of the upcoming smash hit The Panic Virus—is holding a contest surrounding my new book! Sheril Kirshenbaum, Discover Magazine, 4 Jan. 2011 While more dashing than most of us who chew and type for a living, the real-life TV chef and cookbook author does a pretty good job delivering lines that sound true to my working life. Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dashing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1697, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of dashing was circa 1697

Dictionary Entries Near dashing

Cite this Entry

“Dashing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dashing. Accessed 25 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

dashing

adjective
dash·​ing
ˈdash-iŋ
1
: noticeably bold and forceful
a dashing attack
2
: showy and stylish especially in dress and manners
made a dashing appearance
dashingly adverb

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