Moxie

Bold courage, energy, and resourceful determination.

Reach for it when giving lively informal praise for nerve and initiative under challenge

It took real moxie to present the untested idea to a skeptical room.

• playful

  get-up-and-go

  when initiative and energy should sound cheerfully informal

  not when The idiom is dated and says little about courage.

• playful

  guts

  when blunt informal praise should emphasize nerve

  not when Guts is crude for formal recognition and can glorify reckless risk.

• playful

  spunk

  when lively courage and spirited resistance are visible

  not when Spunk is dated, can sound patronizing, and has vulgar meanings in some dialects.

• everyday

  grit

  when persistence through difficulty is the central strength

  not when Grit emphasizes endurance and can romanticize unsupported hardship.

• everyday

  nerve

  when acting despite pressure or possible embarrassment matters

  not when Nerve can also mean insolence and does not imply resourcefulness.

• warm

  courage

  when principled action despite fear deserves direct praise

  not when Courage is broader and more dignified than moxie's energetic edge.

• professional

  boldness

  when willingness to act beyond convention is central

  not when Boldness can be rash and lacks moxie's resourceful persistence.

• professional

  resourcefulness

  when inventive use of limited means matters

  not when Resourcefulness can be quiet and does not require bold nerve.

• formal

  audacity

  when confidence breaks convention in a striking way

  not when Audacity often criticizes excessive presumption.

• literary

  pluck

  when cheerful courage by an underdog deserves affectionate praise

  not when Pluck sounds quaint and can patronize someone facing serious danger.

• timidity
• cowardice
• listlessness

• show moxie

  The apprentice showed moxie by proposing a safer sequence.

• took moxie

  It took moxie to question a process everyone else accepted.

• plenty of moxie

  The compact team had plenty of moxie and a realistic plan.

Moxie is informal American English. It can sound dated or patronizing, especially when used about a younger woman.

• merriam-webster, noun sense: energy, courage, or determination ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.