Bold — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective noun /ˈbōld/

Meaning & Definition of Bold

Bold (adjective)

  1. fearless before danger, intrepid
  2. showing or requiring a fearless daring spirit
  3. impudent, presumptuous

Bold (noun)

  1. boldface

Bold (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. inclined or willing to take risks

    "our youngest brother was the boldest one in the family, instantly taking to everything from skiing to skateboarding"

    similar: adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, daring, dashing, emboldened, enterprising, free-swinging, gutsy, hardy, nerved, nervy, venturesome, venturous
    related: brash, daredevil, foolhardy, heedless, hotheaded, impetuous, imprudent, impulsive, incautious, madcap, overbold, overconfident, rash, reckless, thoughtless, wild, brave, courageous, dauntless, fearless, gallant, greathearted, heroic, intrepid, lionhearted, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, swashbuckling, unafraid, undaunted, valiant, valorous, gritty, plucky, spirited, spunky, gadarene, hasty, headlong, precipitate, absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, crazy, foolish, half-witted, harebrained, insane, lunatic (informal), mad, nutty, scatterbrained, silly, wacky, witless, unnecessary, dumb, idiotic, moronic, stupid, irrational, unreasonable
    opposite: unadventurous, unenterprising
    near: chickenhearted, coward, cowardly, craven, lily-livered, milk-livered, milky, poltroon, pusillanimous, shy, timid, timorous, careful, cautious, heedful, prudent, wary, overcareful, overcautious, affrighted, afraid, alarmed, fainthearted, fearful, frightened, horrified, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, unnerved, calm, cool, levelheaded, rational, reasonable, sage, sane, sensible, sound, wise, appalled, concerned, dismayed, upset, worried

  2. displaying or marked by rude boldness

    "you're a bold little brat for trying to steal my stuff while I'm right here"

    similar: arch, audacious, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, brazen-faced, cheeky, cocksure, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, nervy, sassy, saucy, wise
    related: assertive, forward, obtrusive, defiant, disrespectful, shameless, unabashed, unblushing, bluff, blunt, curt, cute, facetious, flip, flippant, pert, smart, smart-aleck, smart-alecky, lippy, mouthy
    opposite: meek, mousy, retiring, shy, timid
    near: demure, humble, modest, courteous, genteel, mannerly, polite, proper, deferential, respectful, abashed, ashamed, blushing, embarrassed, shamefaced, gentle, mild, inconspicuous, unobtrusive

  3. likely to attract attention

    "an interior decorator who likes to use bold colors"

    similar: arresting, bodacious, brilliant, catchy, commanding, conspicuous, dramatic, emphatic, eye-catching, flamboyant, grabby, kenspeckle (chiefly Scottish), marked, noisy, noticeable, prominent, pronounced, remarkable, showy, splashy, striking
    related: detectable, discernible, observable, perceptible, recognizable, visible, outstanding, salient, distinguished, eminent, impressive, notable, noteworthy, highlighted, spotlighted, flagrant, glaring, howling, screaming, flashy, garish, gaudy, glitzy, jazzy, loud, meretricious, swank, tawdry, highfalutin, ostentatious, pretentious, extravagant, fancy, florid, glittery, spectacular, opulent, ornate, overdone, overwrought, absorbing, engrossing, enthralling, fascinating, interesting, riveting
    opposite: inconspicuous, unemphatic, unflamboyant, unnoticeable, unobtrusive, unremarkable, unshowy
    near: subtle, concealed, hidden, shrouded, dim, faint, obscure, insignificant, undistinguished, unimportant, modest, unaffected, unassuming, unpretentious, conservative, plain, quiet, simple, understated, muted, restrained, subdued, toned-down, unflashy

  4. showing a lack of proper social reserve or modesty

    "a bold child who interrupts the adults at his parents' parties"

    similar: familiar, forward, free, immodest, overfamiliar, presuming, presumptuous
    related: arrogant, bumptious, complacent, conceited, egoistic, egomaniacal, egotistic, highfalutin, high-and-mighty, high-hat, hoity-toity, important, overweening, pompous, prideful, proud, self-asserting, self-assertive, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-important, self-satisfied, smug, uppity, vain, vainglorious, cavalier, disdainful, haughty, lordly, pretentious, snobbish, stuck-up, supercilious, superior, audacious, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, cheeky, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, overbold, pert, sassy, saucy, confident, self-assured, self-confident, sure, boastful, braggart, bragging, domineering, high-handed, imperious, self-absorbed, self-centered, self-concerned, self-engrossed, self-infatuated, self-interested, self-involved, selfish, self-obsessed, self-seeking
    opposite: modest, unassuming
    near: demure, down-to-earth, humble, lowly, meek, unassertive, unpretentious, bashful, mousy, retiring, shy, timid, timorous, diffident, self-doubting

  5. having an incline approaching the perpendicular

    "the advanced climbers chose a bold cliff to test themselves"

    similar: abrupt, precipitous, sheer, steep
    related: perpendicular, plumb, straight, vertical, craggy, hillocky, hilly, mountainous, scarped, angled, canted, cocked, heeled, inclined, listed, slanted, sloped, tilted, tipped
    opposite: easy
    near: gentle, gradual, moderate, soft, even, flat, flush, horizontal, level, plane, smooth, unruffled, unwrinkled

  6. feeling or displaying no fear by temperament

    "the bold explorers who will someday journey to other planets"

    similar: brave, courageous, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, gutsy, gutty, heroic, intrepid, lionhearted, manful, stalwart, stout, stouthearted, undauntable, undaunted, valiant, valorous
    related: determined, firm, game, gamy, gritty, plucky, resolute, Spartan, undeterred, undismayed, unflinching, unswerving, mettlesome, spirited, spunky, adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, daring, dashing, hardy, venturesome, venturous, crazy, foolish, half-witted, insane, lunatic (informal), mad, nutty, brash, brazen, daredevil, foolhardy, heedless, hotheaded, impetuous, imprudent, impulsive, incautious, madcap, overbold, overconfident, rash, reckless, thoughtless, wild, hasty, headlong, precipitate, comforted, emboldened, encouraged, heartened, reassured, unafraid
    opposite: chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, coward, cowardly, craven, dastardly, fainthearted, fearful, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered (archaic), nerveless, poltroon, poor-spirited, pusillanimous, spineless, spiritless, timorous, uncourageous, ungallant, unheroic, weakhearted, yellow
    near: diffident, mousy, scary, shy, skittish, timid, anxious, apprehensive, nervous, careful, cautious, heedful, prudent, unadventurous, afraid, agitated, disconcerted, disquieted, disturbed, frightened, horrified, panicked, panic-stricken, perturbed, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, unnerved, upset, appalled, concerned, dismayed, worried, unmanly, weak, wimpy

Related Entry: Bold-faced (adjective)

Bold-faced is a different word from Bold. The synonyms below are for bold-faced, not for bold.

  1. displaying or marked by rude boldness

    "the child proceeded to tell a bold-faced lie despite the evidence right in front of us"

    similar: arch, audacious, bold, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, brazen-faced, cheeky, cocksure, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, nervy, sassy, saucy, wise
    related: assertive, forward, obtrusive, defiant, disrespectful, shameless, unabashed, unblushing, bluff, blunt, curt, cute, facetious, flip, flippant, pert, smart, smart-aleck, smart-alecky, lippy, mouthy
    opposite: meek, mousy, retiring, shy, timid
    near: demure, humble, modest, courteous, genteel, mannerly, polite, proper, deferential, respectful, abashed, ashamed, blushing, embarrassed, shamefaced, gentle, mild, inconspicuous, unobtrusive

Related Entry: Make (verb)

Make is a different word from Bold. The synonyms below are for make, not for bold.

  1. to bring into being by combining, shaping, or transforming materials

    "will you help me make the dough for the cookies?"

    similar: fabricate, fashion, form, frame, manufacture, produce, put together
    related: assemble, build, construct, erect, make up, put up, raise, rear, set up, structure, throw up, craft, handcraft, hew, forge, mold, shape, cobble (together or up), knock out, patch (together), prefabricate, create, invent, mint, originate, establish, father, institute, organize, concoct, contrive, cook (up), design, devise, imagine, think (up), conceive, envisage, picture, visualize, refashion, remake, remanufacture
    near: disassemble, dismantle, take apart, break up, dismember, abolish, annihilate, demolish, destroy, devastate, eradicate, exterminate, extinguish, flatten, pulverize, raze, ruin, shatter, smash, wreck, blow up, explode

  2. to obtain (as a goal) through effort

    "we finally made it!"

    similar: achieve, attain, bag, chalk up, clock (up) (chiefly British), gain, hit, log, notch (up), rack up, ring up, score, win
    related: acquire, capture, carry, draw, garner, get, land, obtain, procure, realize, secure, amount (to), approach, equal, match, measure up (to), meet, rival, tie, touch, beat, excel, outdo, surpass, top
    near: fall short (of), miss, fail (at), lose

  3. to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind)

    "the cats made quite a disturbance when they knocked the Christmas tree over"

    similar: beget, breed, bring, bring about, bring on, catalyze, cause, create, do, draw on, effect, effectuate, engender, generate, induce, invoke, occasion, produce, prompt, result (in), spawn, translate (into), work, yield, bring forth, give rise to
    related: conduce (to), contribute (to), decide, determine, begin, establish, father, found, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, institute, introduce, launch, pioneer, set, set up, start, advance, cultivate, develop, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote, enact, render, turn out
    near: impede, limit, restrict, clamp down (on), crack down (on), crush, dampen, put down, quash, quell, repress, smother, squash, squelch, stifle, subdue, suppress, arrest, check, control, curb, inhibit, rein (in), restrain, retard, can (slang), kill, snuff (out), still, abolish, demolish, destroy, extinguish, liquidate, quench

  4. to carry through (as a process) to completion

    "one person from each department will be asked to make a short presentation at the meeting"

    similar: accomplish, achieve, bring off, carry off, carry out, commit, compass, do, execute, follow through (with), fulfill, negotiate, perform, perpetrate, prosecute, pull off, put through, go through
    related: bring about, effect, effectuate, implement, ace, nail, engage (in), practice, work (at), reduplicate, reenact, repeat, actualize, attain, realize, complete, end, finish, wind up
    near: fail, skimp, slight, slur

  5. to cause (a person) to give in to pressure

    "made him do all the work while everyone else just lounged around"

    similar: blackjack, coerce, compel, constrain, dragoon, drive, force, impel, impress, muscle, obligate, oblige, press, pressure, sandbag, twist one's arm
    related: browbeat, bulldoze, bully, cow, hector, intimidate, blackmail, high-pressure, menace, shame, terrorize, threaten, drag, badger, harass, hound
    near: allow, let, permit, argue, convince, induce, move, persuade, prevail (on or upon), satisfy, talk (into), win (over)

  6. to decide the size, amount, number, or distance of (something) without actual measurement

    "I make that to be about six feet long"

    similar: calculate, call, conjecture, estimate, figure, gauge, guess, judge, place, put, reckon, suppose
    related: conclude, deduce, extrapolate, gather, infer, reason, understand
    near: calibrate, measure, scale, compute, work out

  7. to form by putting together parts or materials

    "make a model airplane"

    similar: assemble, build, confect, construct, erect, fabricate, make up, piece, put up, raise, rear, set up, put together
    related: carpenter, fashion, forge, frame, hammer, handcraft, manufacture, mold, produce, shape, prefabricate, begin, coin, create, generate, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, invent, originate, constitute, establish, father, found, institute, organize, conceive, concoct, contrive, cook (up), design, devise, imagine, think (up), reassemble, rebuild, reconstruct, redevelop, reedify (British), retrofit, jerry-build, rig (up), throw up, combine, unite
    opposite: demount, disassemble, dismantle, dismember, knock down, strike, take down, tear down
    near: demolish, destroy, devastate, flatten, level, pull down, pulverize, raze, ruin, ruinate, shatter, smash, wreck, blow up, explode, detach, disengage, disconnect, disjoin, disunite, divide, separate

  8. to give the impression of being

    "the family made merry despite their financial worries"

    similar: act, appear, come across (as), come off (as), feel, look, seem, sound
    related: dissemble, pretend, recall, resemble, suggest, hint, imply, insinuate

  9. to go on a specified course or in a certain direction

    "the baby made straight for the toy lying on the rug"

    similar: bear, head
    related: aim, bend, direct, point, turn, beeline, light out, put, put out, set off, set out, strike, take off, face, orient, steer, about-face, back, come about, come round, cut, incline, put about, reverse, swerve, tack, turn back, veer, wheel, yaw

  10. to put into effect through legislative or authoritative action

    "the legislature failed to make any new laws last session"

    similar: constitute, enact, lay down, legislate, ordain, pass
    related: reenact, repass, bring about, effect, allow, authorize, permit, sanction, decree, dictate, proclaim, administer, execute, approve, confirm, ratify
    opposite: repeal, rescind, revoke
    near: abolish, abrogate, annul, cancel, invalidate, kill, nullify, overturn, reverse, void

  11. to receive as return for effort

    "I make considerably more money now than I did when I first started working here"

    similar: acquire, attain, bag, bring in, capture, carry, come by, draw, earn, gain, garner, get, knock down, land, obtain, procure, pull down, realize, reap, secure, win
    related: clear, gross, net, accomplish, achieve, notch (up), score, accumulate, amass, rack up, catch, pick up, annex, occupy, take over, reacquire, reattain, recapture, regain, remake
    opposite: forfeit, lose
    near: accord, give, grant, pay, give up, hand over, part (with), relinquish, surrender, yield

  12. to have a clear idea of

    "what do you make of the latest information?"

    similar: appreciate, apprehend, assimilate, behold, catch, catch on (to), cognize, compass, comprehend, conceive, cotton (to or on to), decipher, decode, dig, discern, get, grasp, grok, intuit, know, make out, perceive, recognize, register, savvy, see, seize, sense, tumble (to), twig, understand, pick up on
    related: absorb, digest, take in, realize, fathom, penetrate, pierce
    opposite: miss
    near: misapprehend, misconceive, misconstrue, misinterpret, misperceive, misread, mistake, misunderstand

  13. to position (something) so as to prevent passage through an opening

    "make the gate when ye leave"

    similar: close, shut, steek (chiefly Scottish)
    related: bar, batten (down), bolt, chain, fasten, latch, lock, plug, seal, stopper, secure, bang, clap, slam
    opposite: open
    near: unbar, unbolt, unchain, unfasten, unlatch, unlock, unseal

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Bold

The most common words with a similar meaning to Bold:

Chiefly Scottish: kenspeckle
adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, daring, dashing, emboldened, enterprising, free-swinging, gutsy, hardy, nerved, nervy, venturesome, venturous, arch, bold-faced, brash, brassbound, brassy, brazen, brazen-faced, cheeky, cocksure, cocky, fresh, impertinent, impudent, insolent, sassy, saucy, wise, arresting, bodacious, brilliant, catchy, commanding, conspicuous, dramatic, emphatic, eye-catching

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Bold

Words with the opposite meaning of Bold:

unadventurous, unenterprising, meek, mousy, retiring, shy, timid, inconspicuous, unemphatic, unflamboyant, unnoticeable, unobtrusive, unremarkable, unshowy, modest, unassuming, easy, chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, coward, cowardly, craven, dastardly, fainthearted, fearful, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered, nerveless

Related Words for Bold

daredevil, foolhardy, heedless, hotheaded, impetuous, imprudent, impulsive, incautious, madcap, overbold, overconfident, rash, reckless, thoughtless, wild, swashbuckling, unafraid, gritty, plucky, spirited, spunky, gadarene, hasty, headlong, precipitate, absurd, asinine, balmy, brainless, crazy

Near Antonyms of Bold

milky, careful, cautious, heedful, prudent, wary, overcareful, overcautious, affrighted, afraid, alarmed, frightened, horrified, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, unnerved, calm, cool, levelheaded, rational, reasonable, sage, sane, sensible, sound, wise

Word Forms of Bold

Inflections: bolder, boldest

Derived words: boldly (adverb), boldness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Bold

Middle English, from Old English beald; akin to Old High German bald bold

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Bold

Words & Phrases Containing Bold

bold-faced, make bold, (as) bold as brass, be/make so bold

Frequently Asked Questions about Bold

What does "Bold" mean?

"Bold" means fearless before danger, intrepid. As an an adjective and a noun, it is defined as: fearless before danger, intrepid. It has 6 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Bold"?

Other words for "Bold" include adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, daring, dashing, emboldened, enterprising and free-swinging. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Bold" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Bold"?

There are 283 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Bold". Common alternatives include adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, daring, dashing, emboldened, enterprising, free-swinging, gutsy and hardy.

What is the opposite of "Bold"?

Antonyms of "Bold" include unadventurous, unenterprising, meek, mousy, retiring, shy, timid and inconspicuous. Near antonyms include milky, careful, cautious and heedful.

How do you use "Bold" in a sentence?

Examples of "Bold" in a sentence: "our youngest brother was the boldest one in the family, instantly taking to everything from skiing to skateboarding"; "you're a bold little brat for trying to steal my stuff while I'm right here"; "an interior decorator who likes to use bold colors".

Is "Bold" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Bold" can be used as an adjective and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Bold" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a B2-level word, "Bold" is typical of Cambridge B2 First (FCE), IELTS band 5.5–6.5, TOEFL iBT 72–94, PTE Academic 59–75, TOEIC Listening & Reading 785+.

How do you pronounce "Bold"?

"Bold" is pronounced /ˈbōld/.