audacious

adjective

ȯ-ˈdā-shəs How to pronounce audacious (audio)
Definition of audaciousnext
1
as in bold
displaying or marked by rude boldness with an audacious disregard for innocent bystanders, rival gang members opened fire

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in courageous
foolishly adventurous or bold an audacious effort to start her own business with no real plan or funding

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in adventurous
inclined or willing to take risks audacious adventurers risking everything they had for a shot at glory

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of audacious Alejandro Iñárritu’s audacious satire starring Tom Cruise cost between $140 and $180 million to make, and pulled in just $8 million domestically and $20 million globally. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2026 The forwards who will one day play on the top two lines of an NHL team do audacious things. — Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 But none of these scenes or memories would have been possible without what may be one of the most audacious play calls in modern football history. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 3 Oct. 2026 Riz Ahmed, John Goodman and Sandra Hüller also star in Digger, which centers on Cruise’s audacious oil tycoon grappling with having started a natural disaster. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for audacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for audacious
  1. bold
  2. courageous
  3. adventurous
  4. wise
  5. reckless
  6. daring
  7. brazen
  8. brave
Adjective
  • Inspired by archival photographs of alpine pioneer and early Moncler collaborator Lionel Terray, each is captured in bold portraits wearing reimagined versions of signature Moncler outerwear and accessories.
    — Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Industry reactions to some of these bold decisions, however, feel louder this year.
    — Clayton Davis, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of bold
Adjective
  • Sadly, sports reformers across the country have abandoned the hard work of courageous whistleblowers, such as Bensel-Meyers, and now sing the tune of college athlete compensation.
    — Bruce Svare, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Being gay was still uncharted territory and their trust, at a time when visibility was dangerous, was courageous.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of courageous
Adjective
  • The island’s allure is often centered around exhilaration—surfing on its west coast and exploring its fathomless forests—yet a calmer current of energy runs alongside this adventurous spirit.
    — Adrienne Matei, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Oct. 2026
  • SUVs offered a more adventurous image, available all-wheel drive, greater towing capability in many cases and seemingly endless choices.
    — Chris Hardesty, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of adventurous
Adjective
  • Maybe there’s an equilibrium that must be restored on this show, relationship-wise.
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Anthropic updates its policies to bar users being cruel to Claude, inflaming a debate about whether the company’s concern for ‘model welfare’ is wise.
    — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of wise
Adjective
  • This is a reckless budget that uses our children as bargaining chips.
    — Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The Dodgers’ grand prize from the trade deadline was hardly a reckless choice to start Game 1 of the division series.
    — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of reckless
Adjective
  • At the center of it all is the daring, epic raid on a bank vault deep beneath the streets of Zurich.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
  • But what begins as a bold and daring attempt to broach progressive issues in a notoriously conservative society ultimately loses its nerve, acquiescing to a number of eyebrow-raising narrative compromises.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of daring
Adjective
  • Lovato’s dress, courtesy of Fanci Club, was a deep shade of eggplant purple and topped off with a scarlet-red lace bralette, making for a brazen club-friendly outfit only enhanced by the even more noticeable shoes.
    — Erin Wisti, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The photos and trailer released Thursday show Boyle as a brazen, ambitious college student who teams up with Garner’s brainy Ellison to launch their own cryptocurrency business.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of brazen
Adjective
  • Prioritizing oneself is something Ariana Grande has been brave about as well, with Grande perhaps the poster child for the biggest mental health story of the year.
    — Rob LeDonne, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2026
  • There were a lot of brave guys who stayed to fight there — and people at home don't know what happened.
    — Jonah Kaplan, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of brave

Browse Nearby Words

auctions
audacious
audaciously
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Audacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/audacious. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of syncretic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All