Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Unrestrained by a sense of shame; rudely bold. synonym: shameless.
  • adjective Having a loud, usually harsh, resonant sound.
  • adjective Made of brass.
  • adjective Resembling brass, as in color or strength.
  • transitive verb To face or undergo with bold self-assurance.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Made of brass: as, a brazen helmet.
  • Pertaining to brass; proceeding from brass.
  • Extremely strong; impenetrable: from brass often serving as a type of strength, impenetrability, and the like: as, “environed with a brazen wall”, Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ii.
  • Impudent; having a front like brass.
  • Also spelled brasen.
  • To behave with insolence or effrontery in regard to: with an indefinite it as object.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To carry through impudently or shamelessly.
  • adjective Pertaining to, made of, or resembling, brass.
  • adjective Sounding harsh and loud, like resounding brass.
  • adjective Impudent; immodest; shameless; having a front like brass.
  • adjective (Myth.), (Archæol.) See under Bronze.
  • adjective (Jewish Antiq.) a large laver of brass, placed in Solomon's temple for the use of the priests.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective archaic Pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass (in color or strength).
  • adjective Sounding harsh and loud, like brass cymbals or brass instruments.
  • adjective archaic Extremely strong; impenetrable.
  • adjective Shamelessly shocking and offensive; Impudent; barefaced; immodest; or unblushing.
  • verb transitive To carry through in a brazen manner. Generally used with out or through.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective made of or resembling brass (as in color or hardness)
  • verb face with defiance or impudence
  • adjective unrestrained by convention or propriety

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English brasen, made of brass, from Old English bræsen, from bræs, brass.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English brasen, from Old English bræsen ("brazen, of brass"), equivalent to brass +‎ -en (compare golden).

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Examples

  • Washington trying 'to dictate its rules' By Dalila Mahdawi Daily BEIRUT: Hizbullah on Tuesday lambasted what it called brazen American interference in Lebanon's Star staff Monday, June 01, 2009 - Powered by ...

    WN.com - Articles related to Hudson will return to Chicago to film ABC special 2009

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

  • Per the initiative's blueprint, pastors from around the country purported to exercise their freedoms of speech and religion by endorsing political candidates in brazen violation of the current tax code; they then sent those sermons directly to the IRS to tout their civic transgression.

    Stuart Whatley: Pulpit Politicking Returns for 2010 Election Cycle Stuart Whatley 2010

Comments

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  • See also brassy

    June 17, 2007

  • in the archaic sense, merely "made of bronze", like the brazen calf (or brazen idol) in the Bible.

    April 10, 2009

  • Really? I hadn't heard that before. That's really interesting.

    April 10, 2009

  • This is an interesting word. I've only heard or read it a few times, and it seems to have been always describing the behavior of a women. Is that generally true, or is that a side effect of my reading habits?

    April 11, 2009

  • Yes, madmouth is correct. I remember reading about the "brazen idol" in the Bible tale--but I'd forgotten that meaning until now.

    April 11, 2009

  • Someone behaving brazenly may also be described as having a brass neck.

    April 11, 2009

  • Seanahan: I think it must be a side effect of your choice of reading. Though it does appear quite often preceding the word "hussy", it is by no means used exclusively in that context. "brazen idol" and "brazen it out" seem about equally common, in my experience.

    April 11, 2009

  • harab brazenly resigned his post for a small ridiculous satire made by his colleagues, that he is puffy, looks odd.His whole family dependent on his income for the monthly expenses.

    October 29, 2017