bold

adjective

1)

bold adventurers

Syn:

daring, intrepid, brave, courageous, valiant, valorous, fearless, dauntless, audacious, daredevil; adventurous, heroic, plucky, spirited, confident, assured; informal gutsy, spunky, feisty; literary temerarious

Ant:

timid, unadventurous

2)

don't be so bold in public

Syn:

impudent, insolent, impertinent, brazen, brash, disrespectful, presumptuous, forward; cheeky, fresh

3)

a bold pattern

Syn:

striking, vivid, bright, strong, eye-catching, prominent; gaudy, lurid, garish

Ant:

pale

4)

departure times are in bold type

Syn:

heavy, thick, pronounced, conspicuous

Ant:

light, roman

••

bold, aggressive, audacious, bumptious, brazen, intrepid, presumptuous

Is walking up to an attractive stranger and asking him or her to have dinner with you tonight a bold move or merely an aggressive one? Both words suggest assertive, confident behavior that is a little on the shameless side, but bold has a wider range of application. It can suggest self-confidence that borders on impudence (to be so bold as to call the president by his first name), but it can also be used to describe a daring temperament that is either courageous or defiant (a bold investigator who would not give up). Aggressive behavior, on the other hand, usually falls within a narrower range, somewhere between menacing (aggressive attacks on innocent villagers) and just plain pushy (an aggressive salesperson). Brazen implies a defiant lack of modesty (a brazen stare), and presumptuous goes even further, suggesting over-confidence to the point of causing offense (a presumptuous request for money). Bumptious behavior can also be offensive, but it is usually associated with the kind of cockiness that can't be helped (a bumptious young upstart). An audacious individual is bold to the point of recklessness (an audacious explorer), which brings it very close in meaning to intrepid, suggesting fearlessness in the face of the unknown (the intrepid settlers of the Great Plains).