courage — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The quality of being confident, not afraid or easily intimidated, but without being incautious or inconsiderate.

   Usage

   • Uncountable
   • usually

   Examples

   A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before.

   There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.

   More examples (1)

   It takes a lot of courage to be successful in business.

2. The ability to overcome one's fear, do or live things which one finds frightening.

   Usage

   • Uncountable
   • usually

   Examples

   He plucked up the courage to tell her how he felt.

   Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.

3. The ability to maintain one's will or intent despite either the experience of fear, frailty, or frustration; or the occurrence of adversity, difficulty, defeat or reversal; moral fortitude.

   Usage

   • Uncountable
   • usually

   Examples

   “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.”

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   I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.

   Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have strength.

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   2008, Maya Angelou, address for the 2008 Cornell University commencement Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.

   I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.

Verb

1. To encourage.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

   Related words

   fearlessnessbield

   Examples

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   And wete yow wel sayd kynge Arthur vnto Vrres syster I shalle begynne to handle hym and serche vnto my power not presumyng vpon me that I am soo worthy to hele youre sone by my dedes / but I wille courage other men of worshyp to doo as I wylle doo

   Paul writeth unto Timothy, to instruct him, to teach him, to exhort, to courage him, to stir him up,

Noun

1. a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear

   Synonyms

   courageousnessbraverybraveness

   Antonyms

   cowardice

   Broader terms

   spirit