boastful

[bohst-fuhl]

adjective

1. given to or characterized by boasting. boast.

   Synonyms: egotistic, vainglorious, cocksure, pompous, cocky, conceited

boastful

/ ˈbəʊstfʊl /

adjective

1. tending to boast; characterized by boasting

Other Word Forms

• boastfully adverb
• boastfulness noun
• overboastful adjective
• overboastfully adverb
• overboastfulness noun
• unboastful adjective
• unboastfully adverb
• unboastfulness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of boastful¹

First recorded in 1275–1325, boastful is from the Middle English word bostful. See boast ¹, -ful

Example Sentences

A bit later, when Jackie Kennedy made her way to a sofa, Nikita Khrushchev sat down beside the first lady and treated her to a barrage of jokes and boastful stories.

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Messages to Jo two days later show him appearing boastful: "Just excluded my first kid", adding that one pupil had shouted in class that Foden "had been in trouble for touching kids".

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But then the bravado behind those boastful campaign pledges lost steam this month.

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But at times he sounds boastful, observing that “people trust me, I have never failed”, and insisting his work was “not a serious crime in Vietnam”.

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In my family you were not allowed to be immodest or boastful.

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Related Words

• arrogant 
• bombastic 
• cocky 
• exultant 
• pompous 
• pretentious 

When To Use

What does boastful mean?

Boastful is used to describe someone who is known for boasting—bragging, especially in a way that exaggerates or shows excessive pride about the boaster’s skills, possessions, or accomplishments.Boastful is especially used to describe a person who boasts all the time. It can also be used to describe such claims, as in He made boastful claims about all of the awards he had won.Boastful people most often boast about themselves—their skills, their possessions, or the things that they have accomplished—but a person can also be boastful about someone else. A parent might be boastful about their child’s accomplishments, for example.Example: No one has ever actually seen him perform, but that doesn’t stop him from being boastful about how good he is.