intrepid

adjective

in·​trep·​id in-ˈtre-pəd How to pronounce intrepid (audio)
: characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance
an intrepid explorer
intrepidity noun
intrepidly adverb
intrepidness noun

Did you know?

Don't Be Afraid to Learn About Intrepid

If you’re going to name a ship, whether an aircraft carrier or an interstellar starship, you could do worse than to name it the Intrepid, as both the United States military and Star Trek writers have done, respectively. (Technically “Intrepid” is a class of Trek ships that includes the Voyager, etc., but you get the drift.) Intrepid, after all, comes from the Latin word intrepidus, itself formed by the combination of the prefix in-, meaning “not,” and the adjective trepidus, meaning “alarmed.” When not designating sea or space vessels, intrepid aptly describes anyone—from explorers to reporters—who ventures bravely into unknown territory, though often you’ll see the word loaded with irony, as in “an intrepid couch surfer endeavored to watch every installment of the beloved sci-fi series in chronological order.” Intrepid word lovers may be interested to know of the existence of trepid, meaning “fearful”; it predates intrepid but most are too trepid (or simply unaware of its existence) to use it.

Examples of intrepid in a Sentence

The heroes are intrepid small-business owners, investigative reporters, plaintiffs and their lawyers, and, of course, Nader himself and his grass-roots organizations. Jonathan Chait, New York Times Book Review, 3 Feb. 2008
Author and explorer Dame Freya Stark was one of the most intrepid adventurers of all time. (T. E. Lawrence, no slouch in the travel department himself, called her "gallant" and "remarkable.") Kimberly Robinson, Travel & Leisure, December 1999
Meanwhile, the intrepid Florentine traveler Marco Polo had been to China and brought back with him a noodle dish that became Italian pasta … Norman F. Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, 1993
an intrepid explorer who probed parts of the rain forest never previously attempted
Recent Examples on the Web There’s her intrepid work as Eleven in all those seasons of the phenomenally popular Things. Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024 As for the debts that will go unpaid, the world is awash in investment funds that will purchase the defaulted Chinese debt in intrepid fashion, and in certain cases billionaires will be minted for entering the proverbial burning house. John Tamny, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 As discovered by one intrepid TikToker, this isn’t the first time McDonald has been accused of crossing the line between working hard to get the story and inappropriate intimidation. Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 27 Feb. 2024 Not long ago, visiting exotic animals in their habitats was the stuff of intrepid explorers who ventured weeks into remote wilds. Jennifer Kester, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 And 16 Emmys later, the documentary-style series has chronicled the harrowing adventures of various vessels and their intrepid crews across the October king crab and January snow crab seasons — battling boat collisions, power outages, 40-foot waves, and beyond. Briana Richert, James Mercadante, EW.com, 19 Feb. 2024 Ben Affleck—actor, husband of Jennifer Lopez, Bostonian, intrepid Dunkin’ loyalist—finally has a drink to his name at his favorite New England coffee chain. Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 16 Feb. 2024 Scheidel analyzed the work of intrepid researchers who combed the catacombs to collect about 4,000 such inscriptions. Andrew Van Dam, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024 In the workshop’s audience were some of the Mandelbrot set’s most intrepid explorers. Quanta Magazine, 26 Jan. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Latin intrepidus, from in- + trepidus alarmed — more at trepidation

First Known Use

1680, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of intrepid was in 1680

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Cite this Entry

“Intrepid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intrepid. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

intrepid

adjective
in·​trep·​id in-ˈtrep-əd How to pronounce intrepid (audio)
: feeling no fear : bold
intrepidity noun
intrepidly adjective
intrepidness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on intrepid

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