different between outrageous vs audacious

English

Alternative forms

• outragious (archaic)

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman outrageus, Middle French outrageus, from outrage; equivalent to outrage +? -ous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /a?t??e?d??s/
• Rhymes: -e?d??s

Adjective

outrageous (comparative more outrageous, superlative most outrageous)

1. Violating morality or decency; provoking indignation or affront. [from 14th c.]
   • c. 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, First Folio 1623:

     To be, or not to be, that is the Question: / Whether 'tis Nobler in the minde to suffer / The Slings and Arrowes of outragious Fortune, / Or to take Armes against a Sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them [...].

   • 2011, Paul Wilson, The Guardian, 19 Oct 2011:

     The Irish-French rugby union whistler Alain Rolland was roundly condemned for his outrageous decision that lifting a player into the air then turning him over so he falls on his head or neck amounted to dangerous play.

2. Transgressing reasonable limits; extravagant, immoderate. [from 14th c.]
   • 2004, David Smith, The Observer, 19 Dec 2004:

     Audience members praised McKellen, best known for Shakespearean roles and as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, for his show-stealing turn as Twankey in a series of outrageous glitzy dresses.

3. Shocking; exceeding conventional behaviour; provocative. [from 18th c.]
   • 2001, Imogen Tilden, The Guardian, 8 Dec 2001:

     "It's something I really am quite nervous about," he admits, before adding, with relish: "You have to be a bit outrageous and challenging sometimes."

4. (now rare) Fierce, violent. [from 14th c.]
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:

     For els my feeble vessell, crazd and crackt / Through thy strong buffets and outrageous blowes, / Cannot endure, but needes it must be wrackt [...].

Derived terms

• outrageously
• outrageousness

Related terms

• outrage

Translations

Further reading

• outrageous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• outrageous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology

From Latin audacia (“boldness”), from audax (“bold”), from aude? (“I am bold, I dare”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: ô-d??sh?s IPA^(key): /???de???s/
• (US) enPR: ô-d??sh?s IPA^(key): /??de???s/
• Rhymes: -e???s

Adjective

audacious (comparative more audacious, superlative most audacious)

1. Showing willingness to take bold risks; recklessly daring.
   • 22 March 2012, Scott Tobias, AV Club The Hunger Games[1]

     That such a safe adaptation could come of The Hunger Games speaks more to the trilogy’s commercial ascent than the book’s actual content, which is audacious and savvy in its dark calculations.
2. Impudent, insolent.

Synonyms

• (willing to take bold risks): bold, daring, temeritous, temerarious

Antonyms

• (willing to take bold risks): shy, cautious, prudent

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• audacious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• audacious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• audacious at OneLook Dictionary Search