braggadocio

American  

[brag-uh-doh-shee-oh] / ˌbræg əˈdoʊ ʃiˌoʊ /

noun

• braggadocios
  plural

1. empty boasting; bragging.

2. a boasting person; braggart.

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braggadocio British  

/ ˌbræɡəˈdəʊtʃɪˌəʊ /

noun

1. vain empty boasting

2. a person who boasts; braggart

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• braggadocian
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• braggadocios
  plural

Etymology

Origin of braggadocio

After Braggadocchio, boastful character in Spenser's Faerie Queene (1590), apparently a pseudo-Italian coinage based on brag

Explanation

Braggadocio means not only bragging, but bragging about something that’s not true. When your friend boasts of a private yacht, ten personal servants, and nightly caviar dinners, that’s braggadocio, unless he happens to live on the French Riviera. Braggadocio comes from the word brag, but saves you the trouble of calling someone's bragging a lie by giving you one word that does both. You might say that the new guy at work who keeps telling stories about his heroic genius for fixing any computer is full of braggadocio — since when you asked him for help with yours, he had no idea what to do.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

braggadocio braggadocios

In person, Huang subdues his ironic braggadocio with polite eye contact and rolling belly laughs at his own jokes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

But the braggadocio both in terms of the AI investment cycle and Nvidia’s place at the top of it, seems to belie a greater degree of concern than the company would likely admit.

From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025

But the most likely outcome is that people will brush these warnings aside and answer them with braggadocio of the type “America is not for sale.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

You might think that all these wealthy and successful individuals would be at least a little put off by all this inane braggadocio.

From Salon ● May 6, 2024

Shakespeare frequently uses violations of decorum for comic effect, as witness Bottom’s muddled attempts at eloquence, Pistol’s braggadocio, and Polonius’s foolish high-sounding waffle.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Elvie Ellis navigates “On the Deck of a Spanish Sailing Ship, 1492” with authority, then pivots from braggadocios to soul-baring as a budding basketball star with a dark past in “The Steam Train.”

From Washington Post ● Jul. 16, 2021

“I’m a jealous boy, really feel like John Lennon,” he sang in “All Girls Are the Same,” in a mopey voice that could veer from downcast mumble to braggadocios rap.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2019

He engages in rap’s braggadocios side, opens up to romantic stresses, touches the issue of being black and queer in 2015, juggling all that while still eagerly dropping Pokémon references.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 15, 2015

Don’t feel that only braggadocios apply for awards; if you’re an expert in your industry, you deserve to be recognized. 

From Forbes ● Feb. 13, 2013

Tartuffe is the father of the hypocrites; Orgon of the dupes; Thraso, of the braggadocios; Alceste of the 'Manlys'; Davus and Syrus of the intriguing valets, the Scapins and Figaros.

From Complete Short Works of George Meredith by George Meredith