Meaning & use
courageous
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Willing to face danger or difficulty despite feeling afraid.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a courageous act, she was courageous.
Patterns
- courageous in something
- it is courageous of someone to do something
The firefighter made a courageous rescue from the burning house.
It was courageous of her to speak up against the boss.
The courageous young climber kept going in the storm.
adjectivecomparable
Showing moral strength by taking a risky, honest stand.
Grammar: Often describes decisions or statements, not only physical danger.
Patterns
- a courageous decision
- a courageous stand
The editor made a courageous decision to print the story.
Admitting the mistake was a courageous choice.
The judge delivered a courageous ruling.
Word forms
| comparative | more courageous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most courageous |
Common combinations
- courageous act
- The boy's courageous act saved his friend.
- courageous decision
- Leaving a safe job was a courageous decision.
- courageous leader
- The country needed a courageous leader.
- courageous fight
- She put up a courageous fight against illness.
- courageous stand
- The workers took a courageous stand for fair pay.
Synonyms and how they differ
- brave
- Brave is shorter and more common, and fits children and everyday talk, while courageous sounds more serious and admiring.
- fearless
- Fearless means feeling no fear, whereas courageous means acting well while afraid.
- bold
- Bold stresses confidence and willingness to take risks, sometimes without wisdom.
- valiant
- Valiant is literary and suggests heroic effort in battle or struggle.
Opposites
Word family
- courage noun
- the ability to act despite fear
- courageously adverb
- in a brave way
- courageousness noun
- the quality of being brave
- encourage verb
- to give someone confidence or support
- discourage verb
- to take away someone's confidence
Commonly confused: courageous or courteous?
courageous vs courteous
Courteous means polite and respectful. It sounds somewhat like courageous but has nothing to do with bravery.
Practice
It was ______ of the young nurse to challenge the senior doctor's mistake.
Choose one answer.
Courageous means brave in a risky situation. Courteous means polite and does not capture the risk, and cautious is the opposite of taking the stand.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “courageous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.