courageous

courageous — adjective

1. A courageous person does something difficult, dangerous, or frightening because

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

A courageous person does something difficult, dangerous, or frightening because they believe it is the right thing to do, often when others would not.

Example

The firefighters made a courageous effort to save everyone trapped inside the burning hotel.

courageous + noun (effort, act, decision)

It was courageous of Ravi to admit his mistake in front of the whole class.

It + be + courageous + of + person + to-infinitive

Common collocations
  • courageous effort
  • courageous act
  • courageous decision
  • courageous rescue
  • courageous stand
  • courageous fight
  • it is courageous of someone to
Synonyms
  • brave

    more common in everyday speech; 'courageous' often implies a moral dimension

  • bold

    suggests confidence that may seem excessive to others

  • daring

    emphasizes willingness to take risks, often in exciting ways

  • fearless

    suggests a lack of fear, whereas 'courageous' means acting despite fear

Antonyms
  • cowardly

    opposite of courageous; implies shameful avoidance of danger

  • timid

    suggests shyness or lack of confidence rather than moral failure

Grammar Patterns

it + be + courageous + of + person + to-infinitive

courageous + noun (act, effort, decision)

Usage Note

Common in formal and written contexts; in everyday conversation, brave is more frequently used. The pattern 'It is courageous of someone to do something' is typical for praising a specific action.

Common Mistakes

I feel courageous today.
I feel brave today.
'Courageous' describes a person’s character or actions, not a temporary mood.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Brave is the most common word for facing danger or pain, used freely in both conversation and writing. Courageous is more formal and often carries a moral weight — it suggests acting on principle despite fear, not just charging into danger. Bold focuses on confidence that may strike others as audacious or forward, while daring highlights a willingness to push boundaries or take exciting risks. Fearless differs from all of these because it implies an absence of fear, whereas a courageous or brave person feels fear but acts anyway. For example, a soldier who runs into gunfire is brave; a journalist who publishes a report that puts her own safety at risk is courageous; an athlete who attempts a never-done-before trick is daring; a person who feels no fear at all in a crisis is fearless.

brave ↗bold ↗daring ↗fearless ↗

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word courageous comes from Old French corageus (meaning 'full of heart'), which was formed from corage ('heart, courage'). This traces further back to Latin cor ('heart'), since in ancient and medieval thought the heart was seen as the source of inner strength and spirit. The suffix -ous means 'full of,' so the word literally means 'full of heart.'