brave

See also: Brave, bravé, bravě, and bravë

English

Pronunciation

enPR: brāv, IPA^(key): /bɹeɪv/
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -eɪv

Etymology 1

From Middle French brave, borrowed from Italian bravo, itself of uncertain origin (see there). Doublet of bravo.

Adjective

brave (comparative braver or more brave, superlative bravest or most brave)

Strong in the face of fear; courageous.
Synonyms: bold, daring, doughty, orped, resilient, stalwart

Antonyms: cowardly, fearful, mean, weak
- 1578–1579, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale. [...] Dedicated to the Right Honorable the Ladie Compton and Mountegle”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. Whereof the Next Page Maketh Mention‎^[1], London: Imprinted for VVilliam Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head, published 1591, →OCLC:
  For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.
- 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
  Do not fret, dear. You must be brave and strong, and help me through the horrible task. If you only knew what an effort it is to me to tell of this fearful thing at all, you would understand how much I need your help.
- 1987, Michael Grumley, The Last Diary:
  […] he has been so brave, giving it all a dignity.
- 2025 November 12, Philip Haigh, “High praise for rail staff's courage and clear thinking”, in RAIL, number 1048, page 50:
  Huntingdon's ferocity makes the reaction of staff all the more brave. To move towards danger when others are fleeing is the definition of bravery in my book. To place yourself in danger to protect others.
(obsolete) Having any sort of superiority or excellence.
- c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene v:
  Is it not paſſing braue to be a King,
  And ride in triumph through Perſepolis?
- 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Plantations”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
  Iron is a brave commodity where wood aboundeth.
- 18 February 1666, Samuel Pepys, diary entry:
  It being a brave day, I walked to Whitehall.
Making a fine show or display.
- c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
  Their plumed helmes are wrought with beaten golde,
  Their ſwords enameld, and about their neckes
  Hangs maſſie chaines of golde downe to the waſte,
  In euery part exceding braue and rich.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:
  Wear my dagger with the braver grace.
- 1611, John Cooke, Greene's Tu Quoque:
  For I have gold, and therefore will be brave. / In silks I'll rattle it of every color.
- 1867, Ralph Waldo Emerson, May-Day:
  Frog and lizard in holiday coats / And turtle brave in his golden spots.
- 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
  So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills, […] a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
(UK, euphemistic) Foolish or unwise.
Synonym: courageous

Synonyms

(courageous): See also Thesaurus:brave

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

strong in the face of fear — see also courageous,‎ valiant

Afrikaans: dapper (af), braaf
Albanian: i guximshëm (sq), Trrim
Altai:
Southern Altai: јӱректӱ (ǰürektü)
Arabic: شُجَاع (ar) (šujāʕ), جَرِيء (jarīʔ), جَسُور (jasūr)
Egyptian Arabic: شجيع (šagīʕ)

Hijazi Arabic: شجاع (šujāʕ), جريء (jarīʔ)
Aragonese: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: քաջ (hy) (kʻaǰ)
Aromanian: gioni
Asturian: bravu (ast), valiente, coraxosu
Azerbaijani: cəsur (az), mərd (az), comərd, ürəkli (az)
Bashkir: батыр (batır), ҡыйыу (qıyıw)
Basque: ausart
Belarusian: хра́бры (xrábry), адва́жны (be) (advážny), сме́лы (be) (smjély)
Bengali: সাহসী (bn) (śahośi)
Breton: kaloneg
Bulgarian: хра́бър (bg) (hrábǎr), смел (bg) (smel)
Burmese: ရဲရင့် (my) (rai:rang.), သတ္တိကောင်း (my) (satti.kaung:)
Catalan: valent (ca), coratjós, audaç (ca)
Chechen: майра (majra)
Cherokee: ᏧᎵᏨᏯᏍᏗ (tsulitsvyasdi)
Chinese:
Gan: ^{(please verify)} 勇敢 (iûng-gôn), ^{(please verify)} 有量 (îu liòng), ^{(please verify)} 猛 (mûng), ^{(please verify)} 敢 (gon³), ^{(please verify)} 俹 / 𱎫 (ngâ)

Mandarin: 勇敢 (zh) (yǒnggǎn)
Czech: odvážný (cs) m, statečný (cs) m
Danish: modig (da)
Dutch: moedig (nl)
Esperanto: brava, kuraĝa (eo)
Estonian: vapper, vahva (et), julge (et)
Faroese: djarvur m
Finnish: rohkea (fi), urhea (fi), reipas (fi)
French: courageux (fr)
Friulian: di fiât
Galician: bravo (gl), valente
Georgian: გამბედავი (gambedavi), მამაცი (mamaci), გულადი (guladi), გაბედული (gabeduli), ვაჟკაცი (važḳaci), გულოვანი (gulovani)
German: tapfer (de), mutig (de)
Greek: γενναίος (el) (gennaíos), θαρραλέος (el) (tharraléos)
Ancient Greek: ἀνδρεῖος (andreîos), θρασύς (thrasús)
Gujarati: please add this translation if you can
Haitian Creole: brav
Hausa: please add this translation if you can
Hawaiian: koa
Hebrew: אַמִּיץ (he) m (amitz), אמיצה f (amitza)
Hindi: बहादुर (hi) (bahādur), व्यकित m (vyakit)
Hungarian: bátor (hu)
Icelandic: hugrakkur (is)
Ido: brava (io), kurajoza (io)
Igbo: ebube (ig)
Indonesian: berani (id)
Ingush: майра (majra)
Interlingua: please add this translation if you can
Irish: calma, misniúil, cróga, móruchtúil, fearúil
Italian: coraggioso (it), ardito (it), baldo (it), audace (it), valoroso (it), impavido (it)
Japanese: 勇敢な (ja) (ゆうかんな, yūkan na), 勇気ある (ja) (ゆうきある, yūki aru) (used as adnominal only), 勇猛な (ja) (ゆうもうな, yūmō na), 雄々しい (おおしい, ooshii)
Javanese: wani (jv)
Old Javanese: wani
Kannada: please add this translation if you can
Kazakh: ержүрек (erjürek), батыл (batyl), батыр (batyr), дәділ (dädıl)
Khmer: ក្លាហាន (km) (klaa haan)
Korean: 용감하다 (ko) (yonggamhada)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئازا (ckb) (aza), قارەمان (qareman)
Kyrgyz: кайраттуу (ky) (kayrattuu), жүрөктүү (ky) (jüröktüü), батымдуу (batımduu)
Ladino: korajozo
Lao: ກຳແຫງ (kam ngǣ), ກ້າຫານ (kā hān), ກ້າ (lo) (kā)
Latin: animosus, fortis (la), magnanimus
Latvian: drosmīgs, drošs (lv)
Lithuanian: drąsus (lt)
Luxembourgish: daper, couragéiert
Macedonian: хра́бар (hrábar), смел (smel)
Malay: berani
Malayalam: ധീര (ml) (dhīra), ധൈര്യമുള്ള (dhairyamuḷḷa)
Maltese: kuraġġuż
Manchu: ᠪᠠᡨᡠ᠋ᡵᡠ (baturu)
Māori: hautoa, māia, toa (mi)
Marathi: चातुर्य (cāturya)
Middle English: doughty
Mirandese: please add this translation if you can
Mongolian: эрэлхэг (mn) (erelxeg), зоригтой (mn) (zorigtoj)
Norman: brave
Norwegian: modig (no)
Occitan: coratjós (oc), valent (oc)
Odia: please add this translation if you can
Ojibwe: (to be brave, strong-hearted) zoongide'e
Old English: beald
Ottawa: (to be brave, strong-hearted) aakde'e, zoongde'e
Pacoh: préinh
Pashto: please add this translation if you can
Persian: شجاع (fa) (šojâ'), دلیر (fa) (delir), نیو (fa) (niv)
Plautdietsch: brow
Polish: odważny (pl) m, chrobry (pl), dzielny (pl) m
Portuguese: bravo (pt), valente (pt), corajoso (pt), bravio (pt)
Punjabi: please add this translation if you can
Romanian: curajos (ro), brav (ro)
Russian: хра́брый (ru) (xrábryj), сме́лый (ru) (smélyj), отва́жный (ru) (otvážnyj), бесстра́шный (ru) (besstrášnyj), бра́вый (ru) (brávyj)
Sanskrit: वीर (sa) (vīra)
Scots: wicht
Scottish Gaelic: misneachail, tapaidh
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: храбар

Latin: hrabar (sh)
Sicilian: curaggiusu (scn)
Sindhi: please add this translation if you can
Sinhalese: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: odvážny, statočný
Slovene: pogumen (sl) m, hraber m
Somali: geesi (so)
Spanish: valiente (es), valeroso (es), corajudo (es), bravo (es), corajoso (es) (desus.)
Swahili: jasiri (sw)
Swedish: modig (sv)
Tagalog: matapang
Tajik: шуҷоъ (šujo'), далер (tg) (daler), диловар (dilovar), шуҷоатманд (šujoatmand)
Tamil: தைரியசாலி (ta) (tairiyacāli)
Telugu: ధైర్యమైన (te) (dhairyamaina)
Thai: กล้าหาญ (th) (glâa-hǎan), กล้า (th) (glâa)
Tibetan: བློ་ཁོག་ཆེན་པོ (blo khog chen po), དཔའ་བོ (dpa' bo)
Turkish: cesur (tr), mert (tr), korkusuz (tr), yürekli (tr), cesaretli (tr)
Ottoman Turkish: قوچاق (koçak)
Turkmen: batyr (tk), mert
Tuvan: эккер-эрес (ekker-eres), кайгал (kaygal), дидим (didim)
Ukrainian: хоро́брий (xoróbryj), відва́жний (vidvážnyj), сміли́вий (uk) (smilývyj)
Unami: ilamàlsi (animate)
Urdu: بهادر (bahādur)
Uyghur: باتۇر (ug) (batur), قورقماس (qorqmas), جەسۇر (jesur), مەرد (merd)
Uzbek: jasur (uz), mard (uz), botir (uz), dovyurak (uz)
Vietnamese: dũng cảm (vi) (勇敢 (vi)), mạnh dạn (vi), mạnh bạo (vi), gan dạ (vi), quả cảm (vi), gan góc (vi)
Volapük: kuradik (vo)
Walloon: coraedjeus (wa) m, bråve (wa) m, franc (wa) m
Welsh: dewr (cy), gwrdd, gwrol (cy), eofn (cy), glew (cy)
Yiddish: העלדיש (heldish), מוטיק (mutik)
Zulu: -nesibindi

(obsolete) having any sort of superiority or excellence

Russian: дивный (ru) (divnyj)

Noun

brave (plural braves)

(dated) A Native American warrior.
(obsolete) A man daring beyond discretion; a bully.
- 1674 (date written), John Dryden, The State of Innocence, and Fall of Man: An Opera. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1677, →OCLC, Act I, page 6:
  Hot Braves, like thee, may fight; but know not well / To manage this, the laſt great Stake of Hell.
- 1870–1871 (date written), Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter LVII, in Roughing It, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company [et al.], published 1872, →OCLC, pages 414–415:
  In no other land, in modern times, have towns so absolutely died and disappeared, as in the old mining regions of California. […] For, observe, it was an assemblage of two hundred thousand young men—not simpering, dainty, kid-gloved weaklings, but stalwart, muscular, dauntless young braves, brimful of push and energy, and royally endowed with every attribute that goes to make up a peerless and magnificent manhood—the very pick and choice of the world's glorious ones.
(obsolete) A challenge; a defiance; bravado.
- c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
  Demetrius, thou dost overween in all; / And so in this, to bear me down with braves.

Translations

native American warrior

Bulgarian: индиански воин m (indianski voin)
Finnish: intiaanisoturi
German: Krieger (de) m
Russian: инде́йский во́ин m (indéjskij vóin)

Etymology 2

From Middle French braver, from brave.^[1]

Verb

brave (third-person singular simple present braves, present participle braving, simple past and past participle braved)

(transitive) To encounter or withstand with courage and fortitude, to defy, to provoke.
- 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
  For Cassius is aweary of the world;
  Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother;
  Checked like a bondman; all his faults observed,
  Set in a notebook, learned, and conned by rote,
  To cast into my teeth.
- 1665 (first performance), John Dryden, The Indian Emperour, or, The Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman […], published 1667, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
  The ills of Love, not those of Fate, I fear,
  These I can brave, but those I cannot bear […]
- 1773, A Farmer, Rivington's New-York Gazetteer, Number 53, December 2
  […] but they [Parliament] never will be braved into it.
After braving tricks on the high-dive, he braved a jump off the first diving platform.

He braved the storm and spent the night outside. In the morning, he braved his parents' wrath.
(transitive, obsolete) To adorn; to make fine or showy.
- c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
  Face not me. Thou hast braved many men; brave
  not me. I will neither be faced nor braved.
  addressed to a tailor; first use in sense of "adorn", second and third uses in sense of "confront"