brash

[ brash ]

adjective

, brash·er, brash·est.

1. impertinent; impudent; tactless:

   a brash young man.

2. hasty; rash; impetuous.

   Synonyms: precipitate, foolhardy, imprudent, overhasty, reckless

   Antonyms: careful, prudent, wary, cautious

3. energetic or highly spirited, especially in an irreverent way; zesty:

   a brash new musical.

4. (used especially of wood) brittle.

noun

1. a pile or stack of loose fragments or debris, as of rocks or hedge clippings.
2. brash ice.
3. Pathology. heartburn ( def 1 ).
4. Scot. and North England Dialect.
   1. a sudden shower or burst of rain.
   2. any sudden, minor sickness or indisposition, especially of the digestive tract.
   3. an assault; attack.

brash

¹

/ bræʃ /

noun

1. loose rubbish, such as broken rock, hedge clippings, etc; debris

brash

²

/ bræʃ /

adjective

1. tastelessly or offensively loud, showy, or bold
2. hasty; rash
3. impudent

brash

³

/ bræʃ /

noun

1. pathol another name for heartburn

Derived Forms

• ˈbrashly, adverb
• ˈbrashness, noun

Other Words From

• brash·ly adverb
• brash·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of brash¹

First recorded in 1400–50; (noun) late Middle English brass(c)he “a slap, crash,” perhaps blend of brok(e) ( Old English broc “breach, fragment, sickness”; akin to break ) and dasch “smashing blow”; dash ¹; (adjective) in the sense “brittle” is derivative of the noun; in the sense “hasty” by confusion with rash ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of brash¹

C18: of unknown origin

Origin of brash²

C19: perhaps influenced by rash ¹

Origin of brash³

C16: perhaps of imitative origin

Example Sentences

Tommy Richman’s TikTok smash “Million Dollar Baby” was one of the year’s inescapable singles — a brash, funky and featherlight falsetto that rattled out of cars windows and phone speakers for months.

From Los Angeles Times

Not least because brash controversy and wild unpredictability is just the start of it.

From BBC

How will Sir Keir Starmer, the former north London human rights lawyer, gel with the brash New York billionaire?

From BBC

What role could another brash billionaire, Elon Musk, play in a Trump administration – after his summer of goading the Labour government on X?

From BBC

“I don’t like his personality — he’s a little brash,” she said of Trump.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• foolhardy
• impetuous
• overconfident
• rash
• reckless