Synonyms for courage
Most common
All synonyms
Noun
1. Bravery
bravery, fearlessness, boldness, pluck informal, fortitude, nerve, audacity, daring, valor US, valour UK, grit, guts informal, heroism, intrepidity, heart, spunk, confidence, mettle, self-reliance, spirit, manliness, gallantry, prowess
Other
back bone, pecker informal UK, dauntlessness rare
Definitions
- n. 1
The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate.
It takes a lot of courage to be successful in business.
Related words
- Word family
- courageous
- Phrases
- liquid courage take courage
Forms
- Plural
- courages → braveries, fearlessnesses, boldnesses, plucks…
Choose the right word
Bravery, courage, heroism, and intrepidity may be silent, spiritual, or passive; they may be exhibited by a martyr at the stake.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- bravery There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity.
- fortitude You can't even imagine how much fortitude it requires.
- boldness He had the boldness to ignore the teacher's advice.
- fearlessness I admire your courage and your fearlessness.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| courage | rising | |
| bravery | rising | |
| fortitude | rising | |
| boldness | rising | |
| fearlessness | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- guts1, grit1
- 5 letters
- heart1, nerve1, valor2, pluck1, spunk1
- 6 letters
- spirit2, daring2, valour, mettle2, pecker
- 7 letters
- bravery3, prowess2, heroism4
- 8 letters
- audacity4, boldness2
- 9 letters
- fortitude3, gallantry3, manliness
- 10 letters
- confidence3
- 11 letters
- intrepidity5
- 12 letters
- fearlessness
- 13 letters
- dauntlessness
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (valor2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- bravoure
- Español
- bravura
- Deutsch
- Tapferkeit