brazen

brazen (ˈbreɪz^ən)

—*adj*
1.	shameless and bold
2.	made of or resembling brass
3.	having a ringing metallic sound like that of a brass trumpet

—vb (usually foll by out or through)
4.	to face and overcome boldly or shamelessly: the witness brazened out the prosecutor's questions
5.	to make (oneself, etc) bold or brash

[Old English bræsen, from bræsbrass]

'brazenly

—*adv*

'brazenness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

brazen

O.E. bræsen "of brass," from bræs "brass" + see -en (2). The figurative sense of "hardened in effrontery" is 1570s (in brazen-face), perhaps suggesting a face unable to show shame (see brass). To brazen it out "face impudently" is from 1550s.

Example sentences

Brazen, unabashed, flat out defense of the whopping profits this industry has been showing.

The scam was brazen and fast, carried out in broad daylight.

The show is smart enough to test the waters of outrage but not brazen enough to

take a genuine plunge.

But, even more brazen was the idea that negative health effects stemming from

high cholesterol could be treated and reversed.

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Falstaff Falstaffian Gorgon hussy impertinent impudent

Matching Quote

"The one thing that enslaves people more than any other to the servitude of war is nationalism—the patriotic cant—Religious cant is feeble; its on a down slope fighting to hold territory—but the patriotism—all the noxious influences of the world seem to have thrown their tentacles about it—Its the mask of all the trade-greed & the glory-breed—and the asininity that makes people insist on sacrificing themselves on the nearest altar—no matter how brazen the God above it."

-John Dos Passos