bold

[bohld] /boʊld/

adjective, bolder, boldest.

not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring:

a bold hero.

not hesitating to break the rules of propriety; forward; impudent:

He apologized for being so bold as to speak to the emperor.

necessitating courage and daring; challenging:

a bold adventure.

beyond the usual limits of conventional thought or action; imaginative:

Einstein was a bold mathematician. a difficult problem needing a bold answer.

striking or conspicuous to the eye; flashy; showy:

a bold pattern.

steep; abrupt:

a bold promontory.

Nautical. deep enough to be navigable close to the shore:

bold waters.

Printing. typeset in boldface.

Obsolete. trusting; assured.

Idioms

10.

be / make (so) bold, to presume or venture; dare:

I made bold to offer my suggestion.

Origin

before 1000; Middle English bald, bold, Old English b(e)ald; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German bald, Dutch boud bold, Old Norse ballr dire < Germanic *bál-tha-z; akin to Welsh balch proud, Irish balc strong < *bal-ko-

Related forms

boldly, adverb

boldness, noun

overbold, adjective

overboldly, adverb

overboldness, noun

superbold, adjective

superboldly, adverb

superboldness, noun

unbold, adjective

unboldly, adverb

unboldness, noun

Can be confused

bolder, boulder.

Synonyms

1. fearless, adventurous, brave, valiant, intrepid, valorous, dauntless. 2. Bold, brazen, forward, presumptuous may refer to manners in a derogatory way. Bold suggests impudence, shamelessness, and immodesty: a bold stare. Brazen suggests the same, together with a defiant manner: a brazen liar. Forward implies making oneself unduly prominent or bringing oneself to notice with too much assurance. Presumptuous implies overconfidence, effrontery, taking too much for granted.

Antonyms

2. modest.

Examples from the web for bold

Nothing is invincible to the brave nor impregnable to the bold.
bold, striking vanities and cabinets are shown in maple espresso.
It was a little artsy: visually bold, visually striking.
Fortune favours the bold.
His bold story is timely, given current national efforts to reform labor laws.
Some of the book's 187 images are indeed bold, sophisticated and arresting.
Using black and white in this photo was a bold move that works perfectly.
The country lacked bold economic and institutional reforms.
Rosés have enough of both acidity and bold fruitiness to be extremely flexible with food.
Use flowers of yellow, orange, and red to play off bold foliage in shades of green.

British Dictionary definitions for bold

bold

/bəʊld/

adjective

courageous, confident, and fearless; ready to take risks

showing or requiring courage: a bold plan

immodest or impudent: she gave him a bold look

standing out distinctly; conspicuous: a figure carved in bold relief

very steep: the bold face of the cliff

imaginative in thought or expression: the novel's bold plot

(printing) set in bold face

noun

(printing) short for bold face

Derived Forms

boldly, adverb
boldness, noun

Word Origin

Old English beald; related to Old Norse ballr dangerous, terrible, baldinn defiant, Old High German bald bold

Word Origin and History for bold

adj.

Old English beald (West Saxon), bald (Anglian) "bold, brave, confident, strong," from Proto-Germanic *balthaz (cf. Old High German bald "bold, swift," in names such as Archibald, Leopold, Theobald; Gothic balþei "boldness;" Old Norse ballr "frightful, dangerous"), perhaps from PIE *bhol-to- suffixed form of *bhel- (2) "to blow, swell" (see bole).

Of flavors (coffee, etc.) from 1829. The noun meaning "those who are bold" is from c.1300. Old French and Provençal baut "bold," Italian baldo "bold, daring, fearless" are Germanic loan-words.

Idioms and Phrases with bold

bold

In addition to the idiom beginning with

bold

also see: