What does boldfaced mean?
Boldfaced is an adjective with two distinct applications. In typography and everyday document design, it describes text that is set in a heavier, darker typeface to draw attention — headings, key terms, and warnings are commonly boldfaced so readers can scan a page efficiently. The word's second sense is figurative and behavioral: a boldfaced person or act is boldly impudent, forward, or shameless, as in a boldfaced lie told without embarrassment. This figurative use overlaps with "bald-faced" (itself a variant of "barefaced"), and many style commentators consider "bald-faced" the more standard choice for describing audacity, leaving "boldfaced" most secure in its typographic role. Derived from the adjective "bold" plus the suffix "-faced," it belongs to a small family of compound adjectives that describe demeanor through the face or presentation. Whether marking emphasis on a page or nerve in a speaker, boldfaced signals something deliberately conspicuous.
Printed or displayed in bold typeface for emphasis.
"All defined terms are set in boldfaced type in this glossary."
This is the dominant modern sense, especially in publishing, web design, and technical writing.
Shamelessly bold, impudent, or forward in manner.
"She made her boldfaced demands right at the start of the negotiation."
Often interchangeable with "bald-faced," which many authorities prefer in this sense; sometimes hyphenated as "bold-faced."
The word for bold print and a brazen lie is the same — and the "lie" version is technically spelled with no "d" at all in its older form: bald-faced.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of boldfaced
Boldfaced is formed from "bold," an Old English word ("bald") meaning daring or confident, combined with the suffix "-faced," which attaches to adjectives describing facial expression or bearing (compare "straightfaced" and "poker-faced"). The typographic sense arose naturally once printing developed bold typefaces as a way of signaling emphasis. The figurative sense, describing impudence, parallels the older "barefaced" — later "bald-faced" — which originally meant having an uncovered, undisguised face and came to imply shamelessness.
How boldfaced is actually used
The typographic sense is neutral and common in publishing and design contexts. The behavioral sense, meaning impudent or shameless, overlaps heavily with "bold-faced"/"bald-faced," and usage guides often prefer "bald-faced" for that meaning; "boldfaced" there can read as slightly informal or as a variant spelling.
Easily confused with boldfaced
"Bald-faced" (from "barefaced") means shameless or undisguised and is the standard form for an audacious act such as a bald-faced lie, while "boldfaced" more properly refers to text set in bold type.