Definition of VAUNTED

Vaunted Has Latin Roots

The verb vaunt has been used since the 15th century with the meaning "to make a vain display of one's own worth or attainments"-in other words, "to brag or boast." Over time, vaunt developed the meaning "to boast of (something)," as in "the promotional flier vaunts the natural beauty of the area," and gave rise to the adjectival form vaunted. The history of vaunt and vaunted leads back to the Latin word vanus, meaning "vain" or "empty." (The word vain itself is also a descendant of vanus.)

Examples of vaunted in a Sentence

The team's vaunted defense faltered in the second half of the game.

Recent Examples on the Web The food lives up to its vaunted reputation, with revelatory homemade sun bread and camel tagine that effortlessly falls from the bone. — Brian Freedman, Travel + Leisure, "Going Home: A Chef’s Journey to the Culinary Soul of Egypt," 29 June 2020 For them and many others, recent events are revealing that Atlanta's vaunted self-perception as a racially progressive city might not be so simple, says Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Georgia State University instructor Douglas Blackmon. — Jay Croft, CNN, "Rayshard Brooks' funeral Tuesday keeps the spotlight on Atlanta," 23 June 2020 Rents in San Francisco, the most expensive apartment market in the U.S., are tumbling as the city’s vaunted tech sector sheds jobs and more tenants leave the city. — Will Parker, WSJ, "Once Booming San Francisco Apartment Market Goes in Reverse," 18 June 2020 There, the Texas Rangers — the vaunted official force of the Lone Star State — didn’t invent police brutality. — Michael Granberry, Dallas News, "The Texas Rangers didn’t invent police brutality, says the author of a new book, ‘they perfected it’," 4 June 2020 In stock trim, blasting around our vaunted 10Best loop, the car feels pleasingly neutral and can be made to rotate with a bit of throttle lift or late braking. — Frank Markus, Car and Driver, "Tested: 2000 Audi TT Goes All-In on Style," 1 June 2020 Walter Chastain won the vaunted giant cabbage competition at the Alaska State Fair last year. — Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, "Some suggest a ‘Not Fair’ to fill replace the cancelled Alaska State Fair," 31 May 2020 The Wall Street bank's once-vaunted capital markets business has struggled for years, and its Marcus retail division is hurting from the weak interest rate environment. — Matt Egan, CNN, "Banks are in trouble, but this solution would make Elizabeth Warren's head explode," 15 May 2020 Play some tunes: Kia has made some changes to its vaunted infotainment system. — cleveland, "Kia puts even more joy in the Soul for 2020 (auto review)," 25 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vaunted.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.