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to brazen

to brazen

2 7.4
Face a difficult or embarrassing situation without shame
  • verb
  • /ˈbreɪzən/
translation icon : afrontar con descaro
  • Instead of apologizing, he brazened it out, pretending that everything was fine.
  • brazen hussy

I can just brazen it out, or I can just talk over the fact that he's being quite rude.

Examples

  • Initially, he tried to brazen it out.

    Blog text (8)
  • If it hadn't been for Destry, he might have put up his hands then and there; instead, he decided to brazen it out.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Maybe the student tried to brazen it out, claiming to be here to get a book, something of that sort.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • It was wrong of you to brazen it out here tonight.

  • Petraeus might very well have survived in office if he had decided to brazen it out.

    Blog text (10)
  • Hector ducks down but knows he has been seen and decides to brazen it out.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • It would be criminally foolish for you to brazen it out in public.

  • The alternative, if no opportunity for a dignified novation is offered, is that they brazen it out, Michael Mann style, and stick two fingers up at the lot of us and laugh with glee as the less temperate burn up in their own indignation.

    Blog text (23)
  • She decided to brazen it out at the meeting, despite her colleagues' disapproval.

  • When confronted about his late submission, he chose to brazen it out and insisted he was still on schedule.

Synonyms

to brave
vsto brazen
43 3.6

To face danger or difficulty with courage

shows boldness without shame rather than courage despite fear
to brazen out
vsto brazen
  • Informal
8.1

To face a difficult or embarrassing situation boldly and without shame

is the same meaning but used as a single word rather than a phrase

Phrasal Verbs

to brazen out
  • Informal
8.1

To face a difficult or embarrassing situation boldly and without shame

Compounds

Very bold, shameless actions that ignore normal rules

How Shameless

to flout
12 7.9
to brazen
2 7.4
to brazen out
  • Informal
8.1
to shrug off
27 3.9

Surface Forms

brazen infinitive
brazened past
brazened past participle
brazening present participle

Etymology

To brazen something out means to face a difficult or embarrassing situation with boldness, as if you were 'made of brass' and could not feel shame. That's why the verb brazen means to act openly and without apology.