Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Resembling brass in color or sound: Having the yellowish color or the loud, harsh, metallic sound characteristic of brass.
   • Bold and unrestrained; impudent: Behaving in a loud, confident, and often rude way that shows a lack of respect or shame.
   • Tastelessly showy; gaudy: Excessively bright, flashy, or ornate in a way that is considered vulgar or lacking in good taste.

Examples of Usage

• Resembling brass:
  • The old doorknob had a brassy sheen from years of polishing.
  • Her laugh was loud and brassy, echoing through the hall.
• Bold and unrestrained:
  • The reporter asked a series of brassy questions that made the politician uncomfortable.
  • He had a brassy confidence that sometimes crossed the line into arrogance.
• Tastelessly showy:
  • The hotel lobby was decorated in a brassy style with too much gold and glitter.
  • She wore a brassy necklace that clashed with her elegant dress.

Advanced Usage

• "To have a brassy attitude": To display a bold, cheeky, or shameless manner.
  • Despite being the new intern, she had a brassy attitude and wasn't afraid to voice her opinions in meetings.

Variants and Related Words

• Brass (noun): A yellow metal alloy of copper and zinc; also used figuratively for boldness or nerve (e.g., ).
• Brassily (adverb): In a brassy manner.
  • The trumpet sounded brassily from the marching band.
• Brassiness (noun): The quality of being brassy.
  • The brassiness of her demeanor put off some of the more conservative clients.

Synonyms

• Brazen: Bold and without shame.
• Bold: Confident and courageous, often to the point of being rude.
• Garish: Obtrusively bright and showy; lurid.
• Strident: Loud and harsh; grating.

Antonyms

• Modest: Unassuming in the estimation of one's abilities or achievements.
• Tasteful: Showing good aesthetic judgment or appropriate style.
• Subdued: Quiet and rather reflective or depressed; soft and muted in color or sound.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• (As) bold as brass: Behaving with too much confidence, in a way that is rude or shocking.
  • He walked into the office, bold as brass, and sat at the boss's desk.
• Brass neck/nerve (noun phrase, related to 'brass'): Shameless boldness; impudence.
  • He had the brass neck to complain about the service after not leaving a tip.

Adjective

1. unrestrained by convention or propriety
   • an audacious trick to pull
   • a barefaced hypocrite
   • the most bodacious display of tourism this side of Anaheim- Los Angeles Times
   • bald-faced lies
   • brazen arrogance
   • the modern world with its quick material successes and insolent belief in the boundless possibilities of progress- Bertrand Russell
2. tastelessly showy
   • a flash car
   • a flashy ring
   • garish colors
   • a gaudy costume
   • loud sport shirts
   • a meretricious yet stylish book
   • tawdry ornaments
3. resembling the sound of a brass instrument