courage

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Lack of fear

Nouns

1. courage, bravery, valor; boldness, strength; daring, gallantry, heroism, intrepidity; defiance, audacity; rashness, brinkmanship; confidence, self-reliance; chivalry, prowess, derring-do; resolution.

2. manliness, manhood; nerve, pluck, backbone, grit, mettle, game; fearlessness, foolhardiness; heart, heart of grace; hardihood, fortitude; heart of oak. Informal, spunk, sand, what it takes; shot in the arm. Slang, guts, crust, moxie, hair, balls, cojones.

3. (act of courage) exploit, feat, enterprise, [heroic] deed or act; bold stroke.

4. (courageous person) man or woman of courage or mettle; hero[ine], demigod[dess]; lion, tiger, panther, bulldog; fire-eater; David, Hector, knight in shining armor.

Verbs

1. be courageous, dare, venture, make bold, brave, beard, defy, face up to, face, meet, stand up to; put a bold face upon, show fight, brave it out; go through fire and water, run the gantlet; bell the cat, take the bull by the horns, beard the lion in his den. Informal, face the music, put one's life on the line.

2. (summon one's courage) take muster; summon up, screw up, or pluck up courage; get up the nerve, nerve or steel oneself, take heart, keep one's chin up, keep a stiff upper lip; hold up one's head, screw one's courage to the sticking place, whistle in the dark; come up to scratch, stand to one's guns, stand against; bear up (against). Slang, stand the gaff, keep a stiff upper lip, hang tough, keep one's chin or pecker up.

3. give or inspire courage, hearten, reassure, encourage, nerve, put upon one's mettle, rally, raise a rallying cry; make a man of. See cheerfulness.

Adjectives

1. courageous, brave; valiant, valorous; gallant, intrepid; mettlesome, plucky, gritty, bold as brass; manly, manful; resolute; stout, hardy, stout-hearted; iron-hearted, lion-hearted; enterprising, adventurous, venturous, venturesome; dashing, chivalrous; soldierly, warlike, heroic; strong-minded, hardy, doughty; firm, determined, dogged, indomitable, persevering. Slang, gutsy, ballsy; pot-valiant.

2. (fearless) bold, bold-spirited, daring, audacious, game; fearless, dauntless, undaunted, unappalled, undismayed, unawed, unabashed, unalarmed, unflinching, unshrinking, unblenching, unapprehensive; confident, self-reliant; bold as a lion, cool as a cucumber.

Adverbs — courageously, bravely, gallantly, boldly, heroically, intrepidly, etc.; like a man, like a Trojan.

Phrases — faint heart never won fair lady; fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Quotations — Fortune sides with him who dares (Virgil), Courage mounteth with occasion (Shakespeare), No man is a hero to his valet (Mme. Cornuel), See, the conquering hero comes! Sound the trumpets, beat the drums! (Thomas Morell), Every hero becomes a bore at last (Emerson), Heroing is one of the shortest-lived professions there is (Will Rogers), Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy (F Scott Fitzgerald), One man with courage makes a majority (Andrew Jackson), Until the day of his death, no man can be sure of his courage (Jean Anouilh).

Antonyms, see cowardice, modesty, fear.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Readiness to dare]

Syn. bravery, valor, valorousness, boldness, intrepidity, fearlessness, spirit, audacity, audaciousness, temerity, dauntlessness, pluck, mettle, enterprise, stoutheartedness, firmness, self-reliance, hardihood, heroism, gallantry, manliness, daring, prowess, resolution, resoluteness, heart, élan, doughtiness, adventuresomeness, adventurousness, venturesomeness, bravura, dash, recklessness, derring-do, pugnacity, pluckiness, gameness, rashness, defiance, the courage of one's convictions, spunk*, grit*, backbone*, guts*, what it takes*, nerve*, nerves of steel*, intestinal fortitude*, moxie*, cojones*; see also strength 1 .

Ant. cowardice, fear*, timidity.

2. [Ability to endure]

Syn. stamina, coolness, firmness; see determination 2 , endurance 2 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

bravery, fearlessness, valor, lion-heartedness, *guts, nerve, *balls, boldness, dauntlessness, derring-do, self-assurance, daring, pluck, backbone, *spine. ''[L]

ies halfway between rashness and cowardice.''—Cervantes. ''Being scared to death— and saddling up anyway.''—John Wayne. ''Grace under pressure.''—Ernest Hemingway. ''Fear holding on a minute longer.''— George Patton.

ANT.: cowardice, mousiness, *wimpiness, faintheartedness

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun The quality of mind enabling one to face danger or hardship resolutely: braveness, bravery, courageousness, dauntlessness, doughtiness, fearlessness, fortitude, gallantry, gameness, heart, intrepidity, intrepidness, mettle, nerve, pluck, pluckiness, spirit, stoutheartedness, undauntedness, valiance, valiancy, valiantness, valor. Informal: spunk, spunkiness. Slang: gut (used in plural), gutsiness, moxie. See FEAR.