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
• reckless
• adventuresome
• dashing
• venturesome
• impulsive
• enterprising
• heroic
• nerved
• emboldened
• gallant
• nervy
• foolish
• valiant
• free-swinging
• impetuous
• stupid
• brash
• unafraid
• foolhardy
• dauntless
• spirited
• imprudent
• rash
• dumb
• undaunted
• thoughtless
• intrepid
• silly
• wild
• valorous
• incautious
• spunky
• madcap
• heedless
• overconfident
• daredevil
• hasty
• hotheaded
• plucky
• unnecessary
• gritty
• mad
• absurd
• stout
• stalwart
• wacky
• headlong
• overbold
• stouthearted
• idiotic
• unreasonable
• swashbuckling
• asinine
• nutty
• crazy
• insane
• lionhearted
• irrational
• lunatic
• precipitate
• moronic
• harebrained
• 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
• defiant
• assertive
• saucy
• brash
• cocky
• insolent
• bold-faced
• cute
• impertinent
• nervy
• cocksure
• brazen-faced
• smart
• arch
• obtrusive
• forward
• disrespectful
• 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
• important
• presumptuous
• confident
• forward
• selfish
• overfamiliar
• brazen
• vain
• audacious
• presuming
• sassy
• bumptious
• brassy
• free
• impudent
• cheeky
• brash
• vainglorious
• cavalier
• bold-faced
• saucy
• haughty
• complacent
• domineering
• pompous
• conceited
• self-assertive
• uppity
• pretentious
• cocky
• insolent
• sure
• prideful
• high-and-mighty
• egomaniacal
• supercilious
• egotistic
• snobbish
• fresh
• self-important
• high-hat
• overbold
• boastful
• disdainful
• self-confident
• self-assured
• superior
• egoistic
• 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

Post Malone managed one of the boldest musical pivots of all time. — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Luzianne Tea New Orleans, Louisiana Practically synonymous with sweet tea, Luzianne is known for its strong, bold brew, plus its clarity when served over ice. — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 23 July 2026

Even summer’s bold colorful sneakers could be fair game, depending on your office dress code. — Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 23 July 2026

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s son Knox stepped out in Los Angeles with a bold new haircut. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 22 July 2026