Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Fearlessly, often recklessly daring; bold. See Synonyms at adventurous, brave.
- adj. Unrestrained by convention or propriety; insolent.
- adj. Spirited and original: an audacious interpretation of two Jacobean dramas.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Bold or daring; spirited; adventurous; intrepid.
- Unrestrained by law, religion, or propriety; characterized by contempt or defiance of the principles of law or morality; presumptuously wicked; shameless; insolent; impudent: as, an audacious traitor; an audacious calumny; “audacious cruelty,” Synonyms Intrepid, foolhardy, rash.
Wiktionary
- adj. Showing willingness to take bold risks; recklessly daring.
- adj. Impudent.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Daring; spirited; adventurous.
- adj. Contemning the restraints of law, religion, or decorum; bold in wickedness; presumptuous; impudent; insolent.
- adj. Committed with, or proceedings from, daring effrontery or contempt of law, morality, or decorum.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. disposed to venture or take risks
- adj. unrestrained by convention or propriety
- adj. invulnerable to fear or intimidation
Etymologies
- From Latin audacia ("boldness"), from audax ("bold"), from audeō ("I am bold, I dare") (Wiktionary)
- French audacieux, from Old French audace, boldness, from Latin audācia, from audāx, audāc-, bold, from audēre, to dare, from avidus, avid; see avid. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I have used the term audacious in speaking of Delacroix, and circumstances forced him to justify the epithet.”
“He is part of what some here are calling an audacious solution to a massive problem: the budget deficit.”
The Washington Post: To bust the deficit, Britain tries a revolution in volunteerism
“O'Scannlain chided Judges Canby and Fisher for issuing an order he called an "audacious ruling" and said the judges lacked the authority to make such demands of prosecutors.”
“To address this set of challenges we will need bold - even 'audacious' - policies.”
“Under the terms of his plea deal, Syume has agreed to cooperate with authorities investigating what prosecutors have described as an audacious and long-running scheme that has led to charges against 40 people, including a top staffer on the D.C. Council.”
The Washington Post: Taxi industry insider pleads guilty to bribing D.C. officials for licenses
“Obama has been called audacious, and he certainly is.”
“Well, she certainly, as well, and maybe a lot of us could make the parallels to another young black politician who people are calling audacious these days, who just might become the first black president -- Don.”
“Having, however, both taken and paid for my passage, and committed what old maids and sailors would call the audacious folly of starting upon a”
Lands of the Slave and the Free Cuba, the United States, and Canada
“Mr. Kipling is the more audacious, which is probably a matter of training.”
“He gazed slowly with eyes that bulged out, with an expression audacious and sad.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘audacious’.
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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501
Classic
mete, ire, bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado, toil, onus, aberration, abstruse, anomaly and 401 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
zealot, wistful, welter, wary, whimsical, warranted, vortex, vivisection, volatile, vitiate, viscous, visage and 787 more...
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501
Classic
abhor, mirth, obtuse, iota, vex, irk, teem, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6689 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1824 more...
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to memorize
words i need to memorize
aberrant, abscond, advocate, aggrandize, amalgamate, ambiguous, ambrosial, anomalous, antediluvian, antipathy, arbitrate, assuage and 163 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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Prep my Lang
Collection of my wordnik word search
equivocal, anomaly, proliferate, assimilate, obscure, aberration, parse, circumnavigate, circumvent, decipher, prose, impasse and 94 more...
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GRE
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abhor, abjure, abrasive, abridge, abstain, acme, activism, adhere, admonish and 195 more...
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GRE
anomaly, assuage, enigma, equivocal, erudite, fervid, placate, lucid, opaque, precipitate, prodigal, zeal and 113 more...
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SAT PSAT ALPHABETICAL A
abandon, abash, abate, abjure, ablution, abnegate, abominable, aboriginal, abortive, abrade, abridge, abrogate and 172 more...
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List Erine
cool mint antiseptic
shalom, cattywampus, bourgeoisie, aerophile, traverse, grotto, epicurean, ex cathedra, nautilus, epitaph, lathe, continuum and 753 more...
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GRE
Taisha GRE Bible
archaic, archetype, archipelago, architect, archive, arctic, ardor, arduous, argot, arid, armory, arrest and 289 more...
Tweets
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