audacious
au·da·cious/ɔˈdeɪ.ʃəs/adjective
audacious is spelled A-U-D-A-C-I-O-U-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables (au·da·cious). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, audacious means “Showing willingness to take bold risks; recklessly daring” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in audacious?
| Letters | 9: A-U-D-A-C-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: au·da·cious |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is audacious?
Audacious appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce audacious?
- UK /ɔːˈdeɪ.ʃəs/
- US /ɔˈdeɪ.ʃəs/
- /ɑˈdeɪ.ʃəs/
Audacious has 3 syllables, split au·da·cious in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-audacious.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with audacious?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as audacious from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃəs/):
- tenacious
- herbaceous
- ostentatious
- efficacious
- rapacious
- sebaceous
- pugnacious
- loquacious
- perspicacious
- argillaceous
- contumacious
- pertinacious
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of audacious
- more audacious comparative
- most audacious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does audacious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Showing willingness to take bold risks; recklessly daring.
- 2
Impudent, insolent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Audacious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | audacieux |
| German | kühn, unverfroren, waghalsig , dreist |
| Portuguese | audaz |
| Spanish | audaz, entrón, aventado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does audacious come from?
From Latin audacia (“boldness”) + -ious, from audax (“bold”), from audeō (“to be bold, to dare”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).