Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Marked by courage or daring; plucky.
  • adjective Robust and uninhibited; lusty.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective marked by courage and determination in the face of difficulties or danger.
  • adjective rough or plain; not sophisticated or refined; earthy. Opposite of sophisticated, or refined.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective marked by courage and determination in the face of difficulties or danger; having guts

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by courage and determination in the face of difficulties or danger; robust and uninhibited

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From guts +‎ -y

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Examples

  • Apollo 8 was a grand success based on a very gutsy call, but one person's gutsy is another person's irresponsible.

    Schedule Pressure and Shuttle Safety - NASA Watch 2008

  • But having said all of that, this is still a gutsy move by Log Cabin - gutsy because some of their members/funders, according to my sources, are anti-gay gays who care nothing about gay civil rights and everything about protecting George Bush at all costs.

    08/15/2004 2004

  • The ad twice calls Harris "gutsy" -- a rather daring euphemism, in our view -- and it slams Nelson as a "do nothing liberal Senator."

    FL-SEN 2009

  • The ad twice calls Harris "gutsy" -- a rather daring euphemism, in our view -- and it slams Nelson as a "do nothing liberal Senator."

    FL-SEN: "Gutsy" Harris Airs Ad Attacking Nelson 2009

  • The Greek word for gutsy, which is all I remember from translating bits of the Iliad, is thumos.

    The Inner Teeny-Tiny Ski Patrol Fresca 2009

  • Nolan then called a gutsy, inventive game - direct snaps to receivers, an onside kick right after halftime, a phony fake punt and two attempted fourth-down conversions when the game still was winnable - yet nothing worked against the Seahawks 'sturdy defense.

    USATODAY.com - Football - San Francisco vs. Seattle 2006

  • Today, Marvel Comics is releasing the first in its miniseries Civil War, which can only be described as a gutsy comic-book series focusing on the whole debate over homeland security and tighter government controls in the name of public safety.

    Marvel Superheroes vs.... Homeland Security? 2006

  • Today, Marvel Comics is releasing the first in its miniseries Civil War, which can only be described as a gutsy comic-book series focusing on the whole debate over homeland security and tighter government controls in the name of public safety.

    Archive 2006-05-01 2006

  • Merchant was actually characterized as gutsy for calling out Mayweather.

    NY Daily News Bob Raissman 2011

  • It wasn't a gutsy move by Harbaugh, because to call it gutsy would be to imply that he isn't afraid to defy strong 49ers fan sentiment.

    SFGate: Top News Stories Scott Ostler 2011

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