gloating

present participle of gloat
as in bragging
to show in an improper or selfish way that you are happy with your own success or another person's failure After such a tough campaign, they're gloating over their victory in the election. All right, you won. There's no need to gloat about it.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 gloating A lot of this was just gloating. Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026 But now ShinyHunters is gloating about breaking back in. Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 8 May 2026 The gloating tones were not unlike those of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth describing the fate of Iranians under American bombardment. Max Hastings, Twin Cities, 5 Apr. 2026 The gloating tones were not unlike those of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth describing the fate of Iranians under American bombardment. Max Hastings, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2026 Following a violent clash that Saturday, group members circulated videos of Lang being dragged into a mob and struck over the head, gloating over the images as evidence that their counterprotest had been effective. Christina Buttons, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026 No wonder Newsom gloating after the Texas court decision came down. Thomas D. Elias, Oc Register, 25 Nov. 2025 The same 60 Minutes that Trump bellowed against and sued over edits to a sit-down with Kamala Harris last year — a lawsuit that held up David Ellison‘s $8 billion purchase of Paramount until a $16 million payout was handed over to a gloating POTUS. Dominic Patten, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2025 There was inevitable goading of some players, gloating after two days when a historic lead had been opened up, and eventual victory. Kevin Coulson, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gloating
bragging
Verb
  • Elon Musk is now bragging that SpaceX will make epic investments en route to unleashing stupendous results.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 19 June 2026
  • Goldberg was obsessive about using original materials, apparently bragging to neighbors about outbidding Martha Stewart on a set of tiles at auction.
    Jesse Armas, Curbed, 16 June 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gloating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gloating. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster