dashing

adjective

dash·​ing ˈda-shiŋ 

1

: marked by vigorous action : spirited

a dashing young horse

2

: marked by smartness especially in dress and manners

dashingly

ˈda-shiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• adventuresome
• adventurous
• audacious
• bold
• daring
• emboldened
• enterprising
• free-swinging
• gutsy
• hardy
• nerved
• nervy
• venturesome
• venturous

Examples of dashing in a Sentence

She married a dashing young lawyer from the city.

a brave and dashing soldier

The actor cuts a dashing figure as a young Jack Kennedy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Pair these sandwiches with your most dashing summer cocktails and let the party begin. —Wini Moranville, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Dec. 2023

Dressed in a man’s dapper suit, Kim Morgan Dean plays Hastings with plucky earnestness and dashing style. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2023

Instead, he’s played by Emmy Award winner Peter Dinklage, who has a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia, at his most dashing and heroic, spinning swords and swinging onto stages. —Zoe Haylock, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2021

LAWs are not the dashing and glamorous surface combatants from the Navy’s stockpile of great sea stories. —Craig Hooper, Forbes, 6 Feb. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1697, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

dashing

adjective

dash·​ing

ˈdash-iŋ

1

: noticeably bold and forceful

a dashing attack

2

: showy and stylish especially in dress and manners

made a dashing appearance

dashingly adverb