Definition of "badass"

There are badasses, and there are badasses. Dothan is one of the latter, from a family full of badasses. I'm not saying he isn't a decent sort. He's fully rational, not like his brother Curtis. But Christ, when the sombitch gets mad …

1995, Robert Girardi, Madeleine’s Ghost‎, New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press

A survival tactic I learned on the psych ward was how to quickly size up potential enemies or garden-variety badasses.

2012, Ilsa J. Bick, Drowning Instinct, Minneapolis, Minn.: Carolrhoda Lab

You're a badass but you ain't no criminal.

2013, Susan Nussbaum, “Teddy Dobbs”, in Good Kings Bad Kings: A Novel, Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; republished as Good Kings, Bad Kings, London: Oneworld Publications, 2014, page 222

They flew the Jolly Roger to signal their reputation for mayhem but, in fact, the pirates didn't actually want a fight, because fighting is costly and dangerous and might result in economic loss. […] Of course, to maintain a reputation that you are a badass, you actually have to occasionally be a badass, so pirates intermittently engaged in violence, reports of which they happily provided to newspaper editors, who duly published them in gory and exaggerated detail.

2015, Michael Shermer, The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, page 59

"I'm a badass." (Jack Nicholson to a New York friend, early 1973.)

1975, Norman Dickens, “Badass”, in Jack Nicholson: The Search for a Superstar, New York, N.Y.: New American Library, page 124

The Oakland Raiders are one of the few teams that I have any feelings for besides the Steelers. Nowadays they're a bunch of wannabe badasses, but back in the day they were something to behold.

1998, Jason Flores-Williams, chapter 6, in The Last Stand of Mr America, San Francisco, Calif.: Caught Inside Press; republished Seattle, Wash.: Nobody Rocks Press, 2009, page 124

Men and women from the CIA's Directorate of Operations (DO) would return from Afghanistan and tell stories about Task Force 11, an amalgamation of Special Forces bad-asses from the various branches of the U.S. military.

2004 May, Vince Flynn, chapter 6, in Memorial Day, New York, N.Y.: Atria Books, page 39

The Rani of Jhansi […] The Rani, also known as Lakshmibai, eventually joined in, and won a few stunning battles. She perished, according to lore, while fighting the British on horseback in full armored splendor. She was only 22.

2011 July 21, Ishaan Tharoor, “Top 10 Bad-Ass Wives”, in Time‎

Known throughout the Spec-Ops community as the best of the best, they were the go-to badasses in the air for the go-to badasses on the ground, and Sandra was the first female pilot to be made a member.

2013 June, Scott McEwen, Thomas Koloniar, chapter 2, in Sniper Elite: One-way Trip: A Novel (Touchstone Book), New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, page 11

I walked out of the mall like I was a real bad ass. Once I was in my truck, I slammed the door starting the engine peeling away from my parkin spot.

2014 September 24, Boo Marx, chapter 10, in The American Terrorists: The True Story of a Real Telepath who Defeated over Three Hundred Soldiers with His Mind, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, page 100

[Charlize] Theron is an absolute badass in the role: hard, intense, quietly vulnerable, in charge at almost every moment. She fights Mad Max to a standstill even though she’s only got one arm. She takes his rifle and shoots out the light of the Bullet Farmer’s car when Max can’t do it.

2017 December 1, Tom Breihan, “Mad Max: Fury Road Might Already be the Best Action Movie Ever Made”, in The A.V. Club‎, archived from the original on 22 February 2018

Uncle Jr. was really quiet. Probably because he was a junior high school teacher and was around badass, hollerin' kids all day.

2005, Cupcake Brown, chapter 2, in A Piece of Cake: A Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Crown, page 21

[There were] lots of really, really bad, badass people … I did not want to be a part of it.

2009 April, Gary C. King, chapter 2, in Butcher, New York, N.Y.: Pinnacle Books, Kensington Publishing Corp., page 26

I worked at one bar on the Upper East Side that was owned by a famous Irish badass thug everyone was scared of.

2015, Colin Quinn, The Coloring Book: A Comedian Solves Race Relations in America‎, New York, N.Y.: Grand Central Publishing

"FAIRY WING GLITTER!!!" / *sparkle* / "It's hard to look bad-ass when using fairy powers..." *sigh*

2004 February 18, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Wednesday, Feb 18, 2004

"Nice coat, lady!" he said. / I sat down across from him. "Not a good moment to start with me about it," I said. / "Who's starting with you? It's badass." It took me only half a second to see that he was serious. "Completely badass."

2011, Laura Dave, chapter 14, in The First Husband: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Viking; republished New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, 2012, page 95

I took another deep breath and plunged under the white caps again safe in the knowledge that these bad ass Thai boys weren't going to follow me anytime soon, out into the storm affected seas; […]

2012, Mark Jones, Fear and Loathing in Pattaya, [Phoenix, Ariz.]: Booksmango, page 161

She's dressed in badass black and the barest amount of chrome that is acceptable. I love her, but she [a car] is not easy to drive.

2012, James R. Tuck, chapter 4, in Spider’s Lullaby, New York, N.Y.: Kensington Publishing Corp.

Yeah. So stop with the pity party. You really are pretty badass right about now.

2013, Katya Armock, chapter 15, in To Growl or to Groan (Hidden Lines; 2), [s.l.]: Etopia Press