BRAVE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Brave

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/breɪv/ Listen

adjective

Brave adj. (compar. braver; superl. bravest)

1.

Bold; courageous; daring; intrepid; opposed to cowardly; as, a brave man; a brave act.

2.

Having any sort of superiority or excellence; especially such as in conspicuous. (Obs. or Archaic as applied to material things.) "Iron is a brave commodity where wood aboundeth." "It being a brave day, I walked to Whitehall."

3.

Making a fine show or display. (Archaic) "Wear my dagger with the braver grace." "For I have gold, and therefore will be brave. In silks I'll rattle it of every color." "Frog and lizard in holiday coats And turtle brave in his golden spots."

Synonyms: Courageous; gallant; daring; valiant; valorous; bold; heroic; intrepid; fearless; dauntless; magnanimous; high-spirited; stout-hearted. See Gallant.

verb

Brave v. t. (past & past part. braved; pres. part. braving)

1.

To encounter with courage and fortitude; to set at defiance; to defy; to dare. "These I can brave, but those I can not bear."

2.

To adorn; to make fine or showy. (Obs.) "Thou (a tailor whom Grunio was browbeating) hast braved meny men; brave not me; I'll neither be faced or braved."

noun

Brave n.

1.

A brave person; one who is daring. "The star-spangled banner, O,long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

2.

Specifically, an Indian warrior.

3.

A man daring beyond discretion; a bully. "Hot braves like thee may fight."

4.

A challenge; a defiance; bravado. (Obs.) "Demetrius, thou dost overween in all; And so in this, to bear me down with braves."

See images of 'Brave'

Etymology of 'Brave'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Brave" Quotes from Famous Books

... place where the horse was, he stopped, and bethought him, "How shall I break through the twelve gates?" At last he made the attempt, and presently broke down one gate; then the steed perceived by his scent the presence of the brave youth, and with a great effort burst his chains; and then Lyubim Tsarevich broke through three more gates, and the steed trampled down the rest. Then Lyubim Tsarevich surveyed the steed and the armour; and put on the armour, but left the steed in the ...

— The Russian Garland - being Russian Falk Tales • Various

... foreign land. Ah, my friends, if these men had but sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; if the great wealth, and the wonderful industry and prudence of Russia had been but spent in doing justly, and loving mercy, what a rich and honourable country of brave and industrious Christian men might Russia be; a blessing, and not a curse, to ...

— Sermons for the Times • Charles Kingsley

... so the helmsman answered, 'Know the secret of the sea? Only those who brave its dangers ...

— The Works of Rudyard Kipling One Volume Edition • Rudyard Kipling

... affairs, considerably increased by the middle of the century, is also reflected in the collection. In 1866 the life of the Czar of Russia was saved from a Nihilist's bullet by the brave action of one of the serfs who had recently been emancipated by royal decree. Czar Alexander II was well liked by his own people and was regarded as an enlightened ruler by the other nations of the West. He was especially respected in the United States because of the open support he gave ...

— Presentation Pieces in the Museum of History and Technology • Margaret Brown Klapthor

... wilt loath leane darknesse like thy death. Who would beleeve thy mettall could let sloth Rust and consume it? If Themistocles 65 Had liv'd obscur'd thus in th'Athenian State, Xerxes had made both him and it his slaves. If brave Camillus had lurckt so in Rome, He had not five times beene Dictator there, Nor foure times triumpht. If Epaminondas 70 (Who liv'd twice twenty yeeres obscur'd in Thebs) Had liv'd so still, he had beene still unnam'd, And paid his ...

— Bussy D'Ambois and The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois • George Chapman

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