adj

brazen

BRAY-zuhn

adj

Shockingly bold or shameless, without any embarrassment.

"It was a brazen attempt to cheat the system in broad daylight."

"She gave a brazen denial even though everyone had seen her do it."

Made of, or resembling, brass.

"The old clock had a brazen face worn smooth by handling."

verb

To face a difficult or embarrassing situation with bold confidence, usually as "brazen it out".

"He brazened it out, insisting he'd done nothing wrong."

How to Use Brazen

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishDoing something outrageous or dishonest without any shame or hesitation.

Memory tip

Think "brass neck" — brazen behaviour is bold enough to seem almost shameless.

Trace the full origin ↓

Common pairings

brazen lie brazen attempt brazen it out

Word Forms

more brazen comparative, brazener comparative, brazened past tense, brazens singular, most brazen superlative, brazenest superlative

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It was a _____ attempt to cheat the system in broad daylight.

Etymology

From Old English bræsen, "made of brass." The modern sense of "shamelessly bold" grew out of the older figurative idea of a face like brass — hard, shiny and unmoved by shame.