1
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: ready to cause or get into trouble : mean
pretending to be a badass gunslinger—
L. L. King
L. L. King2
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: of formidable strength or skill
such a badass guitar player—N'Gai Croal
N'Gai Croal
chiefly US, informal + sometimes impolite
: a person who is badass
Examples of badass in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 8 Apr. 2025
From there, just pop up on your baggiest cargos, a pair of badass combat boots, and maybe an oversized hoodie for a look that feels both hardcore and undeniably cool.
—Kelsey Stiegman, Glamour, 21 Mar. 2025
Marvel at the firework display of disintegrating foes; revel in your might as a pair of badass demon slayers.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
The ’90s were a magical time in the storytelling of badass mothers who would do anything to save their families.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2025
Needless to say, Cade immediately taps into his inner badass and insinuates himself into Chicago’s criminal underworld by pretending to be a drug dealer in order to find Jenny, who has apparently been stolen by a human-trafficking wing operated by the Russian mob.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
And then just did this superhero hop on top of the vending machine like a badass.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 22 Mar. 2025
The trailer is full of blood, guns and badass narration.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 4 Mar. 2025
In December of 2024, our sister site Deadline reported that the series’ leads — Kelly Reilly, who plays badass Beth Dutton, and Cole Hauser, who is Beth’s husband, rough-hewn Rip Wheeler — had struck deals to reprise their roles in a new spinoff.
—Charlie Mason, TVLine, 14 Feb. 2025
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Noun
The same could be said of Fishburne’s character, whose allegiance is more fun to track than his whereabouts, and of Jon Bernthal’s two-scene performance as a badass field agent known as The Bear (lol), who exists to personify the kind of spy movie we’re used to seeing.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 8 Apr. 2025
From there, just pop up on your baggiest cargos, a pair of badass combat boots, and maybe an oversized hoodie for a look that feels both hardcore and undeniably cool.
—Kelsey Stiegman, Glamour, 21 Mar. 2025
Marvel at the firework display of disintegrating foes; revel in your might as a pair of badass demon slayers.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
The ’90s were a magical time in the storytelling of badass mothers who would do anything to save their families.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2025
Needless to say, Cade immediately taps into his inner badass and insinuates himself into Chicago’s criminal underworld by pretending to be a drug dealer in order to find Jenny, who has apparently been stolen by a human-trafficking wing operated by the Russian mob.
—Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2025
And then just did this superhero hop on top of the vending machine like a badass.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 22 Mar. 2025
The trailer is full of blood, guns and badass narration.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 4 Mar. 2025
In December of 2024, our sister site Deadline reported that the series’ leads — Kelly Reilly, who plays badass Beth Dutton, and Cole Hauser, who is Beth’s husband, rough-hewn Rip Wheeler — had struck deals to reprise their roles in a new spinoff.
—Charlie Mason, TVLine, 14 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Badass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badass. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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