bold
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- fearless, adventurous, audacious, brave, courageous, daring, enterprising, heroic, intrepid, valiant
- impudent, barefaced, brazen, cheeky, confident, forward, insolent, rude, shameless

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Antonyms: cowardly
Contrasted words: pusillanimous, shrinking, timid, timorous, mousy, quiet, shy
Related Words: audacious, bluff

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English Thesaurus: brave, courageous, daring, bold, intrepid, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

bold /bəʊld $ boʊld/ adjective
[Language: Old English; Origin: beald]

1. PERSON/ACTION not afraid of taking risks and making difficult decisions:
In a surprisingly bold move, he is threatening court action against the company.
My aunt Flo was a bold determined woman.
He had the ability to take bold imaginative decisions.

2. MANNER/APPEARANCE so confident or determined that you sometimes offend people:
You should be feeling confident and bold when you meet your bank manager.
She marched into his office as bold as brass (=very confident and not showing enough respect).

3. COLOURS/SHAPES very strong or bright so that you notice them:
bold geometric shapes
Stripes are bold, bright, and fun to wear.
bold colours

4. LINES/WRITING written or drawn in a very clear way:
an envelope addressed to her in a bold black hand
The graphics are bold and colourful.
The print should be bold and easy to read.

5. PRINTED LETTERS printed in letters that are darker and thicker than ordinary printed letters:
All the headings are in bold type.

6. make/be so bold (as to do something) formal to do something that other people feel is rude or not acceptable:
I see you have been so bold as to ask for food at this hour.

7. if I may be so bold British English spoken formal used when asking someone a question, to show that you are slightly annoyed with them:
Tell me, if I may be so bold as to ask, precisely what you are talking about.
—boldly adverb
—boldness noun [uncountable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

bold
adj.
VERBS be, feel | become, grow | make sb The exciting news had made him bold.
consider sth
ADV. extremely, really, very | quite, rather

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

bold

a bold move
The newspapers described her resignation as a bold move.
a bold step
The following year he made a bold step to expand his business.
a bold attempt
It was a bold attempt to win back public confidence.
a bold statement/assertion/claim
In a surprisingly bold statement, the couple said they had no intention of marrying.
a bold decision
Deciding to emigrate is a bold decision for anyone to make.
a bold initiative
Investors have become used to the company’s bold initiatives.
a bold experiment
Making a film from the book was a bold experiment, and it worked.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

brave showing that you are not afraid to do things that other people find dangerous or difficult:
I think he was incredibly brave to do a parachute jump.
a brave attempt to change the system
courageous /kəˈreɪdʒəs/ especially written very brave – used especially about someone fighting for what they believe in, or fighting against a disease:
a courageous speech
her courageous fight against cancer
daring brave and willing to take a lot of risks:
a daring escape from a prison camp
a daring fighter pilot
a daring thing to do
bold willing to make difficult decisions or say what you think, even though it may involve risks:
It was a bold move to set up his own company.
She was very bold in criticizing the leadership.
intrepid written willing to do dangerous things or go to dangerous places:
an intrepid traveller
We sent our intrepid reporter to find out what is happening.
adventurous used about someone who enjoys going to new places and doing new, possibly dangerous, things:
More adventurous visitors can go skiing or snowboarding.
fearless not afraid of anything or anyone:
a fearless campaigner for human rights
heroic very brave and admired by many people:
heroic rescuers
Despite heroic efforts to save him, he died.
plucky brave and determined – often used in newspapers:
Plucky Megan, aged 10, has beaten cancer twice.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲