boastful
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
- boastfully adverb
- boastfulness noun
- overboastful adjective
- overboastfully adverb
- overboastfulness noun
- unboastful adjective
- unboastfully adverb
- unboastfulness noun
Etymology
Origin of boastful
First recorded in 1275–1325, boastful is from the Middle English word bostful. See boast 1, -ful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At press briefings and public events, the former television host has adopted an at times boastful, mocking tone in describing the offensive.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
And the jazzy “Robbery,” a boastful number about dominating the competition and coming out on top, has musical references to Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington and features rapper Doechii.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026
But then the bravado behind those boastful campaign pledges lost steam this month.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2025
He is beyond boastful, talking ad nauseum about how he knows more than all the experts in their respective fields.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2024
What he said sounded boastful, but it wasn’t really.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
