adj
Meaning 1
Made of brass.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
brazen
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈbɹeɪ̯zən/
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[ˈbɹeɪzn̩]
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Received-Pronunciation: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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Australian: /ˈbɹæ̝ɪ̯zən/
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Australian: [ˈbɹæ̝ɪzn̩]
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Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -eɪzən
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CMU ARPABET: B R EY1 Z AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Brass-like in appearance or character; bright, ruddy, hard.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Sounding harsh and loud, like brass cymbals or brass instruments.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 4
Extremely strong; impenetrable; resolute.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 5
Shameless or impudent; shocking or audacious; brash.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- She was brazen enough to deny stealing the handbag even though she was caught on camera doing so.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To turn a brass color.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
Generally followed by out or through: to carry through in a brazen manner; to act boldly despite embarrassment, risk, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective
Meaning 8
made of or resembling brass (as in color or hardness)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 9
unrestrained by convention or propriety- Los Angeles Times- Bertrand Russell
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- an audacious trick to pull
- a barefaced hypocrite
- the most bodacious display of tourism this side of Anaheim
- bald-faced lies
- brazen arrogance
- the modern world with its quick material successes and insolent belief in the boundless possibilities of progress
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: audacious, barefaced, bodacious, bald-faced, brassy, brazen-faced, insolent
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 10
face with defiance or impudence
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- brazen it out
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: defy, dare
History
Etymology
From Middle English brasen, from Old English bræsen (“brazen, of brass”); equivalent to brass + -en (compare golden, wooden, etc.). The word originally meant “of brass”; the figurative verb sense (as in brazen it out (“face impudently”)) dates from the 1550s (perhaps evoking the sense “face like brass, unmoving and not showing shame”), and the adjective sense “impudent” from the 1570s. Compare brass neck, bold as brass.
Across languages
Translations
90 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: меден (meden) — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Bulgarian: бронзов (bronzov) — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Czech: mosazný — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Dutch: koperachtig — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Esperanto: bronza — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Finnish: messinkinen — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- French: cuivreux — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- German: messingen — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- German: aus Messing — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- German: Messing- — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Ancient Greek: χάλκεος (khálkeos) — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Mycenaean Greek: 𐀏𐀑𐀍 (ka-ki-jo) — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Italian: ottone — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Italian: ottonato — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Macedonian: месинган (mesingan) — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Māori: āhua parāhe — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Polish: mosiężny — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Russian: латунный (latunnyj) — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Ukrainian: латунний (latunnyj) — pertaining to, made of, or resembling brass
- Dutch: schel — sounding harsh and loud
- Finnish: metallinen — sounding harsh and loud
- French: aigu — sounding harsh and loud
- German: metallisch — sounding harsh and loud
- German: metallen — sounding harsh and loud
- German: blechern — sounding harsh and loud
- Italian: squillante — sounding harsh and loud
- Dutch: keihard — extremely strong
- Dutch: ondoordringbaar — extremely strong
- Finnish: rautainen — extremely strong
- French: dur comme de la pierre — extremely strong
- French: impénétrable — extremely strong
- German: ehern — extremely strong
- German: widerstandsfähig — extremely strong
- German: undurchdringlich — extremely strong
- German: stark — extremely strong
- Armenian: լիրբ (lirb) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Bulgarian: безсрамен (bezsramen) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Cebuano: bagag nawong — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Czech: bezostyšný — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Czech: nestydatý — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Czech: nestoudný — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Dutch: grof — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Dutch: brutaal — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Dutch: schaamteloos — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Finnish: julkea — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Finnish: röyhkeä — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- French: brutal — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- French: éhonté — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- French: grossier — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Galician: descarado — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Galician: insolente — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- German: dreist — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- German: schamlos — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- German: frech — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- German: unverschämt — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- German: unverfroren — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Irish: dalba — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Italian: faccia di bronzo — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Italian: sfacciato — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Italian: sfrontato — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Latin: protervus — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Māori: whakatoatoa — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Māori: whakametometo — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Norwegian Bokmål: frekk — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Norwegian Nynorsk: frekk — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Plautdietsch: onveschämt — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Polish: bezczelny — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Polish: arogancki — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Polish: bezwstydny — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Polish: hucpiarski — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Polish: impertynencki — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Polish: tupeciarski — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Polish: zuchwały — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Portuguese: descarado — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Russian: бессты́жий (besstýžij) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Russian: на́глый (náglyj) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Russian: бессо́вестный (bessóvestnyj) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Russian: де́рзкий (dérzkij) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Spanish: descarado — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Swedish: fräck — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Tagalog: makapal ang mukha — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Thai: หน้าด้าน (nâa-dâan) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Ukrainian: безсоро́мний (bezsorómnyj) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Ukrainian: нахабний (naxabnyj) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- Ukrainian: зухвалий (zuxvalyj) — impudent, immodest, or shameless
- German: sich durchsetzen — to act [boldly] despite [embarrassment]
- German: poltern — to act [boldly] despite [embarrassment]
- German: mutig durchstehen — to act [boldly] despite [embarrassment]
- German: großspurig handeln — to act [boldly] despite [embarrassment]
- Italian: ignorare sfacciatamente — to act [boldly] despite [embarrassment]
Real reading context