as in arrogant
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude
a bumptious young man whose family wealth gave him a sense of entitlement
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Recent Examples of bumptious
It’s all spanked along by one of those golly-gee bumptious holiday musical scores.
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024
The ländler dance in the second was robust and bumptious, with an undercurrent of darkness, and there was just the right amount of winking in the trio; the whole thing was a country fair picaresque.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
Which is not to imply that the six-year-old, with quite a bumptious career behind him, is of Secretariat's muster.
—Guy Martin, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Although not always directly correlated with being bumptious and arrogant, performing at a higher standard than others, and having something to show for it, will always garner attention.
—Clare French, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for bumptious
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Nov. 2024
The ländler dance in the second was robust and bumptious, with an undercurrent of darkness, and there was just the right amount of winking in the trio; the whole thing was a country fair picaresque.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
Which is not to imply that the six-year-old, with quite a bumptious career behind him, is of Secretariat's muster.
—Guy Martin, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Although not always directly correlated with being bumptious and arrogant, performing at a higher standard than others, and having something to show for it, will always garner attention.
—Clare French, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for bumptious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bumptious
arrogant
Adjective
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A lot of people who are that level of arrogant, there’s also an immense insecurity, right?—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The boy is arrogant, Helen thinks.—
Sadia Shepard,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bumptious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bumptious. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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