valiant

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adjective

val·iant ˈval-yənt

Synonyms of valiant next

: possessing or acting with bravery or boldness : courageous

valiant soldiers

: marked by, exhibiting, or carried out with courage or determination : heroic

valiant feats

valiantly adverb

valiantness noun

valiant

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Examples of valiant in a Sentence

Adjective She died last year after a valiant battle with cancer. Despite their valiant efforts, they lost the game. She made a valiant attempt to fix the problem.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Ferrari struggles to unravel them, but makes a valiant effort. —

Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2023 Yes, a valiant effort for all in this first chapter! —

Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 13 Aug. 2023 And on the championship stage, with the Nuggets needing one more bucket to beat the valiant but inferior Heat, Brown drained a 14-footer plus a free throw with 2:04 left, as Denver moved to within one win of its first NBA title with a 108-95 victory at Kaseya Center on Friday night. —

Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 10 June 2023 Those who survived unscathed deserved valiant service medals. —

Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2023 Talking script has not actually been rescinded by the Film Academy, despite her 11-year-old daughter’s valiant April Fools’ Day effort to suggest otherwise. —

Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Apr. 2023 Co-presented with Ukraine’s valiant Docudays UA festival, this year’s Made In program showcases new work from Ukraine, including five features. —

Jennie Punter, Variety, 28 Mar. 2023 The other schools in the Rushing sweepstakes also made a valiant effort, but playing in Tucson was sentimental for Rushing. —

Justin Spears, The Arizona Republic, 7 July 2023 But despite the valiant effort from his defense, McKinney fell 12-6 in its opening contest. —

Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas News, 27 June 2023

Noun

The best part is when one cuttlefish holds out its tentacles in a valiant, but unsuccessful, effort to imitate a striped background. —

Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 9 May 2011 Still, having ruled out direct intervention, NATO knows that Ukraine’s short-term fate will rest with the valiant, though hugely outmatched, Ukrainians. —

Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Mar. 2022 On their initiative, reconciliation was successfully used for the first time in 1980 in a valiant (though unsuccessful) attempt to balance the budget by cutting $8 billion in spending. —

Philip Wallach, National Review, 8 Apr. 2021 Sunil Dowarkasing, a former government minister, called the effort valiant, but said oil had spread as far up the island’s eastern coast as Ile aux Cerfs, a popular resort island. —

Max Bearak, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'valiant.' 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

Adjective

Middle English vailant, valiant, borrowed from Anglo-French vaillant "worthy, strong, courageous," from present participle of valer "to be of worth," going back to Latin valēre "to have strength, be well" — more at wield

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1589, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of valiant was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century