bravado
noun
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Displays of bravado may be show-offish, daring, reckless, and inconsistent with good sense—take, for example, the spectacular feats of stuntpeople—but when successful, they are still likely to be met with shouts of "bravo!" Celebrities, political leaders, corporate giants, and schoolyard bullies, however, may show a different flavor of bravado: one that suggests an overbearing boldness that comes from arrogance or from being in a position of power. The word bravado originally comes from the Italian adjective bravo, meaning "wild" or "courageous," which English can also thank for the more common brave.
Examples of bravado in a Sentence
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 20 Mar. 2026
Walking past the McDonald’s parking lot felt like navigating a minefield of beef and bravado.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 19 Mar. 2026
Despite their bravado, the Houthis have suffered significant losses during their conflict with Israel.
—Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2026
Trump’s remarkable bravado – amplified by his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth – seems designed to generate peak leverage.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bravado
Cite this Entry
“Bravado.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bravado. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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bravado
noun
