braggadocio

noun

ˌbra-gə-ˈdō-sē-ˌō How to pronounce braggadocio (audio)
Definition of braggadocionext
1
as in rhetoric
boastful speech or writing his braggadocio hid the fact that he felt personally inadequate

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2
as in braggart
someone who boasts the swaggering braggadocio is a stock figure of American folklore, with Davy Crockett and Mike Fink being prime examples

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of braggadocio In the context of tens of thousands of DPS students who aren’t making gains quickly enough to ever meet proficiency levels, such fanfare is essentially distracting braggadocio. — Elaine Gantz Berman, Denver Post, 27 July 2026 In person, Huang subdues his ironic braggadocio with polite eye contact and rolling belly laughs at his own jokes. — Mariella Rudi, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 For all of his entertaining braggadocio, his tongue is never lodged in cheek. — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026 Rather than bluster and braggadocio, the Department of Defense needs a well-conceived and thoughtfully presented multiyear program to build a military fit for large-scale and sustained war. — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for braggadocio
Recent Examples of Synonyms for braggadocio
  1. rhetoric
  2. braggart
  3. bombast
  4. brag
  5. grandiloquence
  6. blower
  7. chatter
  8. bluster
Noun
  • But hostile rhetoric on both sides underscored the difficulty of any diplomatic efforts.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026
  • With their rhetoric, the companies appear to be seeking public favor and to set the terms for their own safety protocols in the unregulated market, experts, analysts and former government evaluators told the Associated Press.
    — Garance Burke, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of rhetoric
Noun
  • Clayton is cool and kind and a big braggart.
    — Wendy Paris, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
  • Not to become a braggart, but to amplify my or our team’s success on projects or risk going unnoticed.
    — Lintao "LT" Lu, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of braggart
Noun
  • All the bombast and charisma of the music and the persona were made to feel depressingly small.
    — Jeff Weiss, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The problem with the abstract expressionists’ relentless courting of the sublime was that the process of distillation produced too much bombast.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of bombast
Noun
  • One of the Roundhouse’s biggest brags is an extensive liquor collection, highlighting spirits produced in New York State.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Harvind Singh, the CEO of a consulting engineering firm in Chicago, didn't start keeping a brag log until mid-career.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 21 July 2026
Definition of brag
Noun
  • Much of that singularity was centered in McCarthy’s prose, which ricocheted—sometimes gracefully, sometimes jarringly—between gruff matter-of-factness and soaring, biblical grandiloquence.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 13 June 2023
  • Several of them can fly, and all have at least a touch of grandiloquence to them.
    — Michael Nordine, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022
Definition of grandiloquence
Noun
  • Reuveni then filed a whistle-blower complaint with the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General.
    — Eyal Press, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • It is designed for everyday use and has a variable speed trigger with a speed lock to maintain blower outputs.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of blower
Noun
  • These birds, with their intense, sharp eyes and bold, sturdy appearance, are selective in their social bonds and communicate in loud, rattling chatter.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • The group, including Shawn Mendes, Bruna Marquezine, and Edward Norton, relaxed and unwinded as conversations and chatter got louder.
    — Lucrezia Malavolta, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of chatter
Noun
  • Related Stories Cruise, declaiming every line, acting with blind bluster and a mean gleam of good-ol’-boy joy, makes Digger a walking cartoon — a larger-than-life satire of over-the-top American arrogance, like LBJ crossed with Foghorn Leghorn.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
  • De Zerbi is building a new-look squad around highly technical players and — for all his energy, bluster, nous and physicality – Richarlison does not fit that mould.
    — Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of bluster

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Cite this Entry

“Braggadocio.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/braggadocio. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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