Half of these words praise courage and half describe fear. Each one has its own shade: a valiant person fights hard, an intrepid one explores without trembling, a plucky one stands up even when small. On the fearful side, a timid person is shy, an apprehensive one worries about what is coming, and a craven one runs away in shame.
Key idea
Two Latin roots help. timere means to fear: timid, timorous. trepidus means trembling, alarmed: trepidation is trembling fear, and intrepid (in- = not) means not trembling.
Watch the tone. Audacious can be praise (an audacious rescue) or blame (an audacious lie). The sentence tells you which.
The ten words
Common mistake
audacious can praise boldness or criticize rudeness; read the context. intrepid has nothing to do with trips: it comes from in- (not) and trepidus (alarmed).
| word | brave or fearful? | its special shade |
|---|---|---|
| valiant | brave | fights hard and keeps going |
| intrepid | brave | explores without trembling |
| dauntless | brave | cannot be discouraged |
| plucky | brave | spirited, even when small |
| audacious | brave (or rude) | boldly daring |
| timid | fearful | shy, easily frightened |
| apprehensive | fearful | worried about what is coming |
| craven | fearful | cowardly, in a shameful way |
Craven is much harsher than timid. A timid person is shy and easily scared; a craven person abandons others to save himself. Calling someone craven is an insult.