bracing

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of brace

adj

1. Invigorating or stimulating.

   “Gaining the more open water, the bracing breeze waxed fresh; the little Moss tossed the quick foam from her bows, as a young colt his snortings.”

   “The stories did not seem to me to touch life. They were plainly intended to have a bracing moral effect, and perhaps had this result for the people at whom they were aimed.”

   “The tide was out, and we drew up amid the strong bracing smell of seaweed, with gulls screeching, wheeling around, and gliding on the wind.”

   “Stephen Fineman, a professor at the University of Bath’s School of Management, wrote a bracing paper in 2006 on overly cheery corporate practices.”

noun

1. (uncountable)That which braces.

   “In general, we believe it is better to use too much bracing and then reduce the braces to the proper size rather than to start with too little. Cutting down braces gives the patient a feeling of accomplishment”

2. (countable)A brace.

   “For stability against lateral forces, vertical bracings are provided.”

3. (US, countable, uncountable)A form of the military attention stance.