Standard Lemma guide

valiant

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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.

  • /ˈvæliənt/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: V AE1 L Y AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Possessing or showing courage or determination; brave, heroic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • A valiant man’s look is more than a coward’s sword.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bold, valorous, adventurous, mettlesome, aweless, bad, brass-balled, chivalrous, courageous, daredevil, daring, dauntless, doughty, fearless, fortitudinous, gallant, gutsy, heroic, intrepid, lionhearted, orped, plucky, stalwart, stalworth, stouthearted, unafraid, undaunted, valiant, venturesome

Antonyms: backboneless, base, bitch-ass, boneless, caitiff, candy-assed, chicken, chicken-hearted, chicken-livered, chickenshit, courageless, cowardish, cowardly, cowardy, cowhearted, cowish, craven, cravenhearted, cringey, dastard, dastardly, dickless, dough-faced, fainthearted, fearful, fraidy, gizzardless, heartless, invalorous, invertebrate, gutless, hen-hearted, kiasi, lily-livered, liver-faced, liver-hearted, low-hearted, miching, milky, milk-livered, mouse-hearted, mousy, nerveless, niddering, nidering, niding, nithing, nutless, pigeon-livered, poltroonish, poor-spirited, punk, pusillanimous, pussylike, ratlike, rabbit-hearted, recrayed, retromingent, sissy, spineless, timid, timorous, unhearty, weak-kneed, white-hearted, white-livered, wimpish, yellow, yellow-bellied

2

adj

Meaning 2

Characterized by or done with bravery or valour.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • another valiant attempt at rescue

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A person who acts with valour, showing hero-like characteristics in the midst of danger.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

having or showing valor

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a valiant attempt to prevent the hijack
  • a valiant soldier

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: valorous

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English vailaunt (“having or showing courage or valour, valiant; characterized by valour; powerful, strong; person of valour or strength; excellent, worthy; beneficial, useful; valuable; legally valid, binding”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman vaillaunt, vaylant [and other forms], and Old French vailant, vaillant (“brave, valiant; having value, valuable”) [and other forms], from the present participle of valoir (“to have value; to be worth”), from Latin valēre (“to have value; to be worth; to be strong; to have influence or power”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h2welh1- (“powerful, strong; to rule”).

Across languages

Translations

81 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: igid — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Azerbaijani: rəşadətli — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Azerbaijani: rəşid — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Bulgarian: храбър (hrabǎr) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Bulgarian: смел (smel) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Catalan: valent — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Chinese Mandarin: 英勇 (yīngyǒng) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Chinese Mandarin: 勇敢 (yǒnggǎn) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Czech: statečný — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Czech: udatný — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Czech: odvážný — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Danish: heltemodig — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Danish: heroisk — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Dutch: dapper — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Dutch: heldhaftig — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Dutch: moedig — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Dutch: stout — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Estonian: julge — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Estonian: vapper — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Finnish: rohkea — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Finnish: uljas — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Finnish: urhea — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Finnish: urhoollinen — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • French: vaillant — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • French: preux — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Galician: valente — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Georgian: გულადი (guladi) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Georgian: მამაცი (mamaci) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Georgian: ვაჟკაცი (važḳaci) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • German: beherzt — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • German: heldenhaft — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • German: heroisch — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • German: kühn — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • German: mannhaft — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • German: mutig — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • German: tapfer — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • German: wacker — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Greek: ανδρείος (andreíos) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Greek: θαρραλέος (tharraléos) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Greek: τολμηρός (tolmirós) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Hungarian: bátor — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Hungarian: hősies — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Hungarian: merész — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Hungarian: vitéz — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Irish: galach — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Japanese: 勇ましい (isamashii) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Japanese: 勇敢な (yūkan-na) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Macedonian: до́блестен (dóblesten) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Macedonian: хра́бар (hrábar) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Macedonian: смел (smel) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Norwegian Bokmål: heltemodig — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Norwegian Bokmål: heroisk — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: heltemodig — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: heroisk — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Persian: دلیر (delir) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Persian: هرو (horv) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Polish: mężny — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Portuguese: valente — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Romanian: brav — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Romanian: curajos — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Romanian: viteaz — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Russian: до́блестный (dóblestnyj) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Russian: отва́жный (otvážnyj) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Russian: сме́лый (smélyj) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Russian: хра́брый (xrábryj) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Slovak: chrabrý — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Slovak: hrdý — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Spanish: valiente — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Spanish: valorudo — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Swedish: heroisk — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Swedish: hjältemodig — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Turkish: yiğit — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Ottoman Turkish: قوچاق (koçak) — possessing or showing courage or determination
  • Bulgarian: героичен (geroičen) — characterized by or done with bravery or valour
  • German: heroisch — characterized by or done with bravery or valour
  • German: heldenhaft — characterized by or done with bravery or valour
  • Greek: γενναίος (gennaíos) — characterized by or done with bravery or valour
  • Greek: θαυμαστός (thavmastós) — characterized by or done with bravery or valour
  • Macedonian: ју́начки (júnački) — characterized by or done with bravery or valour
  • Macedonian: хе́ројски (hérojski) — characterized by or done with bravery or valour
  • Polish: heroiczny — characterized by or done with bravery or valour