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PlainSpell

brave

/bɹeɪv/adjective, noun, verb

brave is spelled B-R-A-V-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, brave means “Strong in the face of fear; courageous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in brave?

Letters5: B-R-A-V-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing21 times per million words; the 4,076th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 brave?

Brave appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th 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 brave?

  • US /bɹeɪv/
  • Australia /bɹæɪv/
  • /bɾev/

Brave has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-brave.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with brave?

8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as brave from its last stressed vowel (/eɪv/):

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 brave

  • braver comparative
  • more brave comparative
  • bravest superlative
  • most brave superlative
  • braves plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • braving participle, present
  • braved participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does brave mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Strong in the face of fear; courageous.

  2. 2

    obsoleteHaving any sort of superiority or excellence.

    It being a brave day, I walked to Whitehall.

  3. 3

    Making a fine show or display.

  4. 4

    UKFoolish or unwise.

verb

  1. 1

    To encounter or withstand with courage and fortitude, to defy, to provoke.

    After braving tricks on the high-dive, he braved a jump off the first diving platform.

  2. 2

    obsoleteTo adorn; to make fine or showy.

noun

  1. 1

    datedA Native American warrior.

  2. 2

    obsoleteA man daring beyond discretion; a bully.

  3. 3

    obsoleteA challenge; a defiance; bravado.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Brave in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcourageux (strong in the face of fear)
Germantapfer, mutig (strong in the face of fear), Krieger (native American warrior), trotzen (to encounter with courage)
Portuguesebravo, valente, corajoso, bravio (strong in the face of fear)
Spanishbravo (strong in the face of fear)

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 brave come from?

From Middle French brave, borrowed from Italian bravo, itself of uncertain origin (see there). Doublet of bravo.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after brave