bravado

[bruh-vah-doh]

noun

plural

bravadoes, bravados 

1. a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.

   Synonyms: braggadocio, bombast, bluster, brag

bravado

/ brəˈvɑːdəʊ /

noun

1. vaunted display of courage or self-confidence; swagger

Other Word Forms

• overbravado noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bravado¹

First recorded in 1575–85; from Spanish bravada (now bravata, from Italian ), equivalent to brav(o) “brave” + -ada noun suffix; brave, -ade ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of bravado¹

C16: from Spanish bravada (modern bravata ), from Old Italian bravare to challenge, provoke, from bravo wild, _brave

Synonym Study

See courage.

Example Sentences

Bellamy admits now some of that bravado was his way of hiding the fear of failure.

Read more on BBC

The lure was quick cash, but beneath their bravado was something more predatory - boys as young as their early teens had been effectively groomed into crime.

Read more on BBC

With this role, Redford showed that persistence, not bravado, could carry a movie, and that a star could trade charm for credibility without losing magnetism.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But Higuita had both the bravado and bravery of a child who lost his mother when he was young, growing up with his grandparents in a Medellin neighbourhood gripped by drug feuds and social problems.

Read more on BBC

He apologised to them for the "bravado" displayed by the defendants who smiled and laughed as they were sent down.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bluster