brazen

1 of 2

adjective

bra·​zen ˈbrā-zᵊn 

1

: made of brass

drinking from brazen cups

2

a

: sounding harsh and loud like struck brass

the horrible brazen voice of the fire bell

—Elmer Davis

b

: of the color of polished brass

3

: marked by shameless or disrespectful boldness

a brazen disregard for the rules

brazenly adverb

brazenness

ˈbrā-zᵊn-(n)əs 

noun

brazen

2 of 2

verb

brazened; brazening

ˈbrāz-niŋ,

ˈbrā-zᵊn-iŋ 

transitive verb

: to face with defiance or impudence

—usually used in the phrase brazen it out

Synonyms

Adjective

• arch
• audacious
• bold
• bold-faced
• brash
• brassbound
• brassy
• brazen-faced
• cheeky
• cocksure
• cocky
• fresh
• impertinent
• impudent
• insolent
• nervy
• sassy
• saucy
• wise

Verb

• beard
• brave
• breast
• confront
• dare
• defy
• face
• outbrave
• outface

Examples of brazen in a Sentence

Adjective

He exhibited a brazen disregard for other people's feelings.

a brazen demand for special treatment just because she's rich

Verb

a filmmaker willing to brazen the criticism that such a violent film was sure to provoke

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

As a result of this brazen detention, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism noncitizen students have been advised to stop covering sensitive issues like Gaza, Ukraine and their own former classmate’s case, while scrubbing social media of this new wrongthink. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 16 Mar. 2025

The fight among anti-Trumpers of all stripes has faded in recent days as Trump’s brazen conquest of the spending system was looking increasingly inevitable. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 14 Mar. 2025

Green parallels the why of it all to Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old arraigned for the brazen December 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. —Jessica Wang, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2025

Where Whole Lotta Red felt focused in its brazen, punk-imbued approach, Music sprawls with classic Atlanta rap, industrial synths, and electropop. —Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 14 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Verb

Middle English brasen, from Old English bræsen, from bræs brass

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1555, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing brazen

• brazen-faced
• brazen it out

Rhymes for brazen

• blazon
• hazan
• zazen
• malmaison

Kids Definition

brazen

1 of 2 adjective

bra·​zen ˈbrāz-ᵊn 

1

: made of brass

2

: sounding harsh and loud like struck brass

3

: not ashamed of or embarrassed by one's bad behavior : impudent

4

: of the color of polished brass

brazenly adverb

brazenness

ˈbrāz-ᵊn-(n)əs 

noun

brazen

2 of 2 verb

brazened; brazening ˈbrāz-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to face boldly or defiantly

an enemy who'd rather brazen it out than surrender