bumptious

American  

[buhmp-shuhs] / ˈbʌmp ʃəs /

adjective

1. offensively self-assertive.

   a bumptious young upstart.

   Synonyms:

   brash, cheeky, cocky, forward, pushy

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bumptious British  

/ ˈbʌmpʃəs /

adjective

1. offensively self-assertive or conceited

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Usage

Where does bumptious come from? For as fun as the word bumptious sounds, its meaning is more forceful. Bumptious is recorded in the late 1790s and is a blend of bump and fractious, meaning “unruly” or “irritable.” Bumptious bumps fractious up to the next level, meaning “offensively self-assertive.”Many more amusing Americanisms await in our slideshow "These Wacky Words Originated In The USA."

Other Word Forms

• bumptiously adverb
• bumptiousness noun
• overbumptious adjective
• overbumptiously adverb
• overbumptiousness noun
• unbumptious adjective
• unbumptiously adverb
• unbumptiousness noun

Etymology

Origin of bumptious

First recorded in 1795–1805; bump + (frac)tious

Example Sentences

The stage for his artistic blossoming was set in 1482, when he left the rich mercantile city of Florence for the cruder, more bumptious northern city of Milan.

From Los Angeles Times

Classical in conception — right down to a repeat of the exposition material in the opening movement — it also contains traces of crunchy harmonic modernism and the bumptious sounds of vintage American jazz styles.

From New York Times

These dragons are not awaiting a human slayer, a bumptious avatar of St. George.

From New York Times

Similarly wide-ranging is León’s “Alma” — the lyrical opening of which follows a winding, entertaining path toward the bumptious rhythmic fillips of its central section.

From New York Times

Writing in The New York Times, the critic Roberta Smith described Mr. Bickerton’s pieces in that show as “the most bumptious, engaging and least didactic on view.”

From New York Times