/bɹæʃ/
OriginUncertain. Perhaps from Scots brash, brasch (“a violent onset; an attack or assault”). Perhaps also related to Dutch bars (“stern; strict”), German barsch (“harsh; unfriendly”), Danish barsk (“harsh; rough; tough”), Swedish barsk (“harsh; impetuous”).
- Overly bold or self-assertive to the point of being insensitive, tactless or impudent; shameless.
“a brash young businessman; a brash tabloid; a brash sense of humour”
“Mrs. Mayfield looked away, and the girl stricken with remorse, hastened to her and said: “There, I have been too brash, haven’t I? You must forgive me for I didn’t intend to be brash.”
“Brash, my dear”
“Trouble with Silzer is, he’s too brash—shoots off his mouth too much—likes to hear himself talk.”
- Overly bold, impetuous or rash.
“[…] just because you’re a little hot under the collar, don’t do anything brash, for fear you may regret it afterward.”
“Now, Mr. Reed, you’ve committed nothing but a brash act of bad taste by bypassing the standard channels.”
- Bold, bright or showy, often in a tasteless way.
“brash colours”
“a brash perfume”
“1963, Ian Fleming, Thrilling Cities, London: Jonathan Cape, Chapter 1, “Hong Kong,”
There are scores of brash and noisy bars along Lockhart Street and in Wanchai and North Point (on the island) and th”
- US, colloquial, datedBrittle (said e.g. of wood or vegetables).
“Hickory axles […] all cut from tough butt logs. Brash timber is excluded.”
“Brash wood, when tested in bending, breaks with a short, sharp fracture instead of developing a splintering failure and absorbs a comparatively small amount of work between the elastic limit and final”
“[…] brash timber, which is liable to snap; […]”
- countable, uncountableA rash or eruption; a sudden or transient fit of sickness.
- countable, uncountableA sudden burst of rain.
- countable, obsolete, uncountableAn attack or assault.
- countable, uncountableLeaf litter of small leaves and little twigs as found under a hedge.
- countable, uncountableBroken and angular rock fragments underlying alluvial deposits.
“Alluvium differs from the rubble or brash, just described, as being composed of sand and gravel, more or less rolled”
- countable, uncountableBroken fragments of ice.
“The sea dashed in an angry surf over its inclined sides, rattling the icy fragments or “brash” against its irregular surface”
- obsolete, transitiveTo disturb.
Formsbrasher(comparative) · more brash(comparative) · brashest(superlative) · most brash(superlative) · brashes(plural) · brashes(present, singular, third-person) · brashing(participle, present) · brashed(participle, past) · brashed(past) · Brashes(plural)