Synonyms of bold

bold

adjective

ˈbōld 

1

as in adventurous

inclined or willing to take risks

our youngest brother was the boldest one in the family, instantly taking to everything from skiing to skateboarding

Synonyms & Similar Words

• adventurous
• daring
• courageous
• fearless
• brave
• audacious
• gutsy
• hardy
• venturous
• adventuresome
• venturesome
• dashing
• reckless
• enterprising
• impulsive
• nerved
• emboldened
• heroic
• nervy
• gallant
• valiant
• foolish
• free-swinging
• impetuous
• brash
• unafraid
• foolhardy
• stupid
• dauntless
• imprudent
• spirited
• rash
• undaunted
• thoughtless
• dumb
• intrepid
• wild
• silly
• valorous
• incautious
• spunky
• madcap
• heedless
• overconfident
• hasty
• hotheaded
• daredevil
• plucky
• unnecessary
• gritty
• mad
• absurd
• stalwart
• stout
• wacky
• headlong
• overbold
• stouthearted
• idiotic
• swashbuckling
• asinine
• unreasonable
• nutty
• insane
• lionhearted
• irrational
• crazy
• lunatic
• precipitate
• harebrained
• moronic
• witless
• scatterbrained
• greathearted
• brainless
• balmy
• gadarene
• half-witted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• timid
• careful
• cautious
• unadventurous
• coward
• shy
• cowardly
• timorous
• wary
• prudent
• pusillanimous
• milky
• craven
• unenterprising
• afraid
• fearful
• frightened
• heedful
• startled
• overcautious
• scared
• terrified
• reasonable
• alarmed
• wise
• shocked
• sensible
• sound
• chickenhearted
• spooked
• rational
• cool
• horrified
• lily-livered
• calm
• unnerved
• poltroon
• affrighted
• sane
• milk-livered
• overcareful
• sage
• upset
• worried
• fainthearted
• levelheaded
• concerned
• dismayed
• appalled
• terrorized

2

as in wise

displaying or marked by rude boldness

you're a bold little brat for trying to steal my stuff while I'm right here

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wise
• fresh
• brazen
• audacious
• sassy
• brassy
• impudent
• cheeky
• blunt
• saucy
• brash
• defiant
• assertive
• cocky
• insolent
• bold-faced
• cute
• impertinent
• nervy
• cocksure
• brazen-faced
• arch
• smart
• obtrusive
• disrespectful
• forward
• unabashed
• brassbound
• unblushing
• curt
• shameless
• bluff
• flippant
• flip
• facetious
• mouthy
• pert
• smart-aleck
• lippy
• smart-alecky

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• timid
• meek
• humble
• modest
• shy
• proper
• retiring
• polite
• courteous
• respectful
• mousy
• ashamed
• genteel
• mild
• deferential
• demure
• gentle
• embarrassed
• inconspicuous
• unobtrusive
• mannerly
• abashed
• shamefaced
• blushing

3

as in noticeable

likely to attract attention

an interior decorator who likes to use bold colors

Synonyms & Similar Words

• noticeable
• prominent
• dramatic
• commanding
• remarkable
• impressive
• striking
• marked
• conspicuous
• brilliant
• showy
• emphatic
• flamboyant
• pronounced
• interesting
• outstanding
• eye-catching
• loud
• splashy
• catchy
• visible
• arresting
• noisy
• distinguished
• highlighted
• bodacious
• notable
• glaring
• recognizable
• noteworthy
• salient
• discernible
• kenspeckle
• grabby
• detectable
• perceptible
• ornate
• eminent
• gaudy
• extravagant
• spectacular
• flagrant
• fancy
• flashy
• fascinating
• garish
• observable
• glitzy
• tawdry
• jazzy
• ostentatious
• meretricious
• riveting
• pretentious
• screaming
• swank
• opulent
• enthralling
• engrossing
• absorbing
• florid
• overwrought
• spotlighted
• glittery
• howling
• overdone
• highfalutin

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• subtle
• inconspicuous
• unobtrusive
• unremarkable
• unnoticeable
• hidden
• faint
• obscure
• unemphatic
• concealed
• unshowy
• dim
• unflamboyant
• simple
• insignificant
• modest
• unimportant
• shrouded
• conservative
• plain
• undistinguished
• unaffected
• unassuming
• unpretentious
• understated
• quiet
• subdued
• restrained
• muted
• unflashy
• toned-down

4

as in familiar

showing a lack of proper social reserve or modesty

a bold child who interrupts the adults at his parents' parties

Synonyms & Similar Words

• familiar
• arrogant
• proud
• smug
• immodest
• presumptuous
• selfish
• forward
• overfamiliar
• important
• confident
• brazen
• audacious
• presuming
• sassy
• bumptious
• brassy
• vain
• impudent
• cheeky
• free
• brash
• vainglorious
• bold-faced
• saucy
• cavalier
• haughty
• complacent
• pompous
• conceited
• self-assertive
• uppity
• pretentious
• cocky
• insolent
• prideful
• high-and-mighty
• egomaniacal
• supercilious
• egotistic
• snobbish
• domineering
• fresh
• self-important
• high-hat
• overbold
• boastful
• disdainful
• self-confident
• self-assured
• egoistic
• sure
• superior
• hoity-toity
• highfalutin
• impertinent
• overweening
• pert
• self-satisfied
• self-complacent
• self-conceited
• self-asserting
• lordly
• high-handed
• imperious
• stuck-up
• braggart
• bragging
• self-centered
• self-interested
• self-absorbed
• self-seeking
• self-involved
• brassbound
• self-concerned
• self-engrossed
• self-obsessed
• self-infatuated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• modest
• unassuming
• humble
• meek
• timid
• unpretentious
• demure
• down-to-earth
• unassertive
• bashful
• lowly
• shy
• timorous
• retiring
• mousy
• diffident
• self-doubting

5

as in steep

having an incline approaching the perpendicular

the advanced climbers chose a bold cliff to test themselves

Synonyms & Similar Words

• steep
• abrupt
• vertical
• sheer
• mountainous
• precipitous
• sloped
• perpendicular
• craggy
• straight
• plumb
• angled
• tilted
• hilly
• slanted
• tipped
• hillocky
• scarped
• heeled
• inclined
• listed
• cocked
• canted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• easy
• soft
• gentle
• moderate
• gradual
• smooth
• flat
• horizontal
• even
• level
• flush
• unruffled
• unwrinkled
• plane

6

as in courageous

feeling or displaying no fear by temperament

the bold explorers who will someday journey to other planets

Synonyms & Similar Words

• courageous
• brave
• fearless
• valiant
• heroic
• gallant
• adventurous
• gutsy
• foolish
• dauntless
• undaunted
• intrepid
• impulsive
• manful
• daring
• valorous
• resolute
• stout
• reckless
• stalwart
• stouthearted
• spirited
• lionhearted
• gutty
• determined
• hardy
• Spartan
• unflinching
• undauntable
• doughty
• audacious
• greathearted
• spunky
• brazen
• plucky
• undeterred
• unswerving
• undismayed
• gritty
• mad
• venturous
• game
• impetuous
• adventuresome
• dashing
• venturesome
• brash
• foolhardy
• imprudent
• rash
• hasty
• unafraid
• insane
• thoughtless
• nutty
• gamy
• mettlesome
• wild
• firm
• incautious
• daredevil
• madcap
• heedless
• lunatic
• overconfident
• crazy
• hotheaded
• headlong
• reassured
• encouraged
• emboldened
• overbold
• comforted
• precipitate
• half-witted
• heartened

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• yellow
• timid
• fearful
• coward
• cowardly
• timorous
• dastardly
• pusillanimous
• scary
• craven
• careful
• unheroic
• gutless
• shy
• spineless
• cautious
• anxious
• fainthearted
• diffident
• nervous
• ungallant
• spiritless
• apprehensive
• nerveless
• chicken
• mousy
• afraid
• prudent
• skittish
• uncourageous
• poor-spirited
• frightened
• unadventurous
• startled
• upset
• chickenhearted
• scared
• milk-livered
• weakhearted
• terrified
• lily-livered
• agitated
• heedful
• poltroon
• disturbed
• chicken-livered
• panicked
• perturbed
• unnerved
• shocked
• spooked
• worried
• weak
• horrified
• disconcerted
• concerned
• disquieted
• dismayed
• appalled
• wimpy
• unmanly
• panic-stricken
• terrorized

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of bold

All the judges were impressed with her sauce work and bold flavors. — Sari Kamin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Nov. 2026

Her bold comments about age follow recent reports of Charles’ ongoing cancer battle. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 12 Nov. 2026

But discoveries in prebiotic chemistry have challenged the single-molecule approach and opened an opportunity to bring bold ideas to humanity’s oldest question. — Quanta Magazine, 12 Nov. 2026

When attending our Yale CEO forums, he has been revered by CEOs across sectors and around the world for his bold, entrepreneurial vision and his revolutionary technological triumphs. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 11 Nov. 2026