The adventurous man goes in quest of danger; the bold man stands out and faces danger or censure; the brave man combines confidence with resolution in presence of danger; the chivalrous man puts himself in peril for others' protection.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

brave When it comes to war, they are as brave as anyone.
gallant “You seem a gallant young gentleman, sir,” he said.
gentlemanly She was taken in by his gentlemanly appearance.
handsome My boyfriend is smart, handsome, and friendly too.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
chivalrous		rising
brave		rising
gallant		steady
gentlemanly		rising
knightly		steady
handsome		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: bold¹, gurt
5 letters: great¹, brave¹, hardy², manly², gutsy²
6 letters: polite², heroic³, daring²
7 letters: liberal³, valiant², gallant², doughty²
8 letters: handsome², generous³, fearless², intrepid³, stalwart², knightly², valorous
9 letters: courteous³, dauntless, chivalric
10 letters: courageous³
11 letters: adventurous⁴, gentlemanly⁴, magnanimous⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (hardy² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: chevaleresque
Italiano: cavalleresco
Español: caballeroso