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Moxie

n. resilient, energetic playful

What it means

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.

Words to choose between 10

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom. Tap a word to see when it fits.
playful
everyday
warm
professional
formal
literary

  • playful

    get-up-and-go

    Fits when initiative and energy should sound cheerfully informal

    Careful The idiom is dated and says little about courage.

  • playful

    guts

    Fits when blunt informal praise should emphasize nerve

    Careful Guts is crude for formal recognition and can glorify reckless risk.

  • playful

    spunk

    Fits when lively courage and spirited resistance are visible

    Careful Spunk is dated, can sound patronizing, and has vulgar meanings in some dialects.

  • everyday

    grit

    Fits when persistence through difficulty is the central strength

    Careful Grit emphasizes endurance and can romanticize unsupported hardship.

  • everyday

    nerve

    Fits when acting despite pressure or possible embarrassment matters

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

  • warm

    courage

    Fits when principled action despite fear deserves direct praise

    Careful Courage is broader and more dignified than moxie's energetic edge.

  • professional

    boldness

    Fits when willingness to act beyond convention is central

    Careful Boldness can be rash and lacks moxie's resourceful persistence.

  • professional

    resourcefulness

    Fits when inventive use of limited means matters

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

  • formal

    audacity

    Fits when confidence breaks convention in a striking way

    Careful Audacity often criticizes excessive presumption.

  • literary

    pluck

    Fits when cheerful courage by an underdog deserves affectionate praise

    Careful Pluck sounds quaint and can patronize someone facing serious danger.

Opposites 3

  • timidity
  • cowardice
  • listlessness

Common phrases 3

  • 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.

Usage notes

Keep in mind

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

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated