bold
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bold¹
- /ˈbəʊld/ UK
- [ˈbɒʊɫd] UK
- /ˈbɒld/
- /boʊld/ Canada, US
- /baʉld/ New Zealand
- [bɒʊ(ɫ)d] New Zealand
- /bold/ Scotland
- [boɫd] Scotland
- /bould/ Wales
- [bouɫd] Wales
Sounds like bowled · Rhymes with -əʊld
Where it comes from
From Middle English bold, bolde, bald, beald, from Old English bald, beald (“bold, brave, confident, strong, of good courage, presumptuous, impudent”), from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz (“strong, bold”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-, *bʰlē- (“to bloat, swell, bubble”).
Cognate with Dutch boud (“bold, courageous, fearless”), Middle High German balt (“bold”) (whence German bald (“soon”)), Swedish båld (“bold, dauntless”). Perhaps related to Albanian ballë (“forehead”) and Old Prussian balo (“forehead”). Compare typologically Italian affrontare (“to face, to deal with”), sfrontato (“bold, daring, insolent”), both from Latin frons (“forehead”).
adjective bolder · more bold · boldest · most bold
-
Courageous; daring.
Bold deeds win admiration and, sometimes, medals.
Similar: audacious, brave, courageous, daring, forward, doughty · Opposite: risk-averse, conservative, reluctant
- Visually striking; conspicuous. the painter's bold use of colour and outline
- Having thicker strokes than the ordinary form of the typeface. Many bold fonts are available on this computer.
- Presumptuous, forward, or impudent. […] even the boldeſt and moſt affirmative Philoſophy, which has ever attempted to impoſe its crude Dictates and Principles on Mankind.
- Naughty; insolent; badly-behaved. All of her children are terribly bold and never do as they are told.
- Full-bodied.
- Pornographic; depicting nudity. The government warned bus operators against continuing to show bold content on buses.
- Steep or abrupt. The grounds descend with a bold slope to the water's edge, and rise finely upwards above the mansion, abounding with fine trees, and ornamented by a range of building at a distance, in a corresponding style […]
bold²
- /ˈbəʊld/ UK
- [ˈbɒʊɫd] UK
- /ˈbɒld/
- /boʊld/ Canada, US
- /baʉld/ New Zealand
- [bɒʊ(ɫ)d] New Zealand
- /bold/ Scotland
- [boɫd] Scotland
- /bould/ Wales
- [bouɫd] Wales
Sounds like bowled · Rhymes with -əʊld
Where it comes from
From Middle English bolden, balden, from Old English baldian, bealdian, from Proto-Germanic *balþōną, related to *balþaz (see above). Cognate with Old High German irbaldōn (“to become bold, dare”).
verb bolds · bolding · bolded
- To make (a font or some text) bold. Please bold all these subheads.
- To make bold or daring. […] for this buſines, It touches vs, as France inuades our land Not bolds the King, with others whome I feare, Moſt iuſt and heauy cauſes make oppoſe.
- To become bold or brave.
Similar: embolden
bold³
- /ˈbəʊld/ UK
- [ˈbɒʊɫd] UK
- /ˈbɒld/
- /boʊld/ Canada, US
- /baʉld/ New Zealand
- [bɒʊ(ɫ)d] New Zealand
- /bold/ Scotland
- [boɫd] Scotland
- /bould/ Wales
- [bouɫd] Wales
Sounds like bowled · Rhymes with -əʊld
Where it comes from
From Middle English bold, from Old English bold, blod, bolt, botl (“house, dwelling-place, mansion, hall, castle, temple”), from Proto-Germanic *budlą, *buþlą (“house, dwelling”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to grow, wax, swell”) or *bʰuH-.
Cognate with Old Frisian bold (“house”) (whence North Frisian bol, boel, bøl (“house”)), North Frisian bodel, budel (“property, inheritance”), Middle Low German būdel (“property, real estate”). Related to build.
noun bolds · bolde · boolde
- A dwelling; habitation; building.
Bold⁴
Where it comes from
* As an English surname, from the adjective bold (“daring courageous”) or the noun bold (“dwelling, house”).
* As a Swedish and German surname, related to the adjective above, such as in Baldwin and Reinbold.
proper noun Bolds
- A surname.
- A civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England.
BOLD⁵
adjective
- Acronym of blood-oxygen-level dependent
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: vaulting, heroic, heroical, steep, overreaching, enterprising, bluff, daredevil, positive, conspicuous, sheer, rash, venturesome, overconfident, brave, emboldened
verb
Similar: embolden
Translations
Every language
adj courageous, daring
| Español | denodado |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 勇敢な yūkan na, 大胆な daitan na |
| 中文 | 膽大 /胆大 dǎndà, 勇敢 yǒnggǎn |
| हिन्दी | साहसी sāhsī, निडर niḍar |
| Português | corajoso, bravo, audacioso |
| Français | hardi, effronté |
| Deutsch | mutig, wagemutig, tapfer, kühn |
| Italiano | sfrontato, ardito, audace, coraggioso, baldo |
| Ελληνικά | τολμηρός tolmirós, θαρραλέος tharraléos |
| Română | temerar |
| Русский | сме́лый smélyj, хра́брый xrábryj, отва́жный otvážnyj, реши́тельный rešítelʹnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | dũng cảm, can đảm, gan dạ |
| العربية | جَرِيء jarīʔ, جَسُور jasūr |
| עברית | אמיץ amíts, אמיצה amitsá |
Talk about this word "bold." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bold. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. bold. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bold "bold." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bold.Cite this
@misc{bold_2026,
title = {bold},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bold},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
