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vaunting

[vawn-ting, vahn-]
adjective
  1. having a boastfully proud disposition: a vaunting dictator.
  2. marked by boastful pride: a vaunting air of superiority.
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Origin of vaunting

First recorded in 1580–90; vaunt + -ing2
Related formsself-vaunt·ing, adjective

vaunt

[vawnt, vahnt]
verb (used with object)
  1. to speak vaingloriously of; boast of: to vaunt one's achievements.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to speak boastfully; brag.
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noun
  1. a boastful action or utterance.
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Origin of vaunt

1350–1400; Middle English vaunten < Middle French vanter to boast < Late Latin vānitāre, frequentative of *vānāre, derivative of Latin vānus vain. See vanity
Related formsvaunt·er, nounvaunt·ing·ly, adverbout·vaunt, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for vaunting

prate, boast, crow, gasconade, strut, brag, flaunt, display

Examples from the Web for vaunting

Historical Examples of vaunting

  • Only fancy the Greek vaunting his triumphs or bewailing his defeats in Turkish!'

    Lord Kilgobbin

    Charles Lever

  • The savage looked around him with a vaunting air as he uttered these words.

  • I persuaded you to hope for Lombardy, and without any vaunting of my own patriotism.

    Vittoria, Complete

    George Meredith

  • His vaunting proclamations were headed: In the name of Allah.

  • Well they ken it where little they love it with its vaunting!

British Dictionary definitions for vaunting

vaunt

verb
  1. (tr) to describe, praise, or display (one's success, possessions, etc) boastfully
  2. (intr) rare, or literary to use boastful language; brag
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noun
  1. a boast
  2. archaic ostentatious display
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Derived Formsvaunter, noun

Word Origin for vaunt

C14: from Old French vanter, from Late Latin vānitāre to brag, from Latin vānus vain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for vaunting

vaunt

v.

c.1400, "speak vainly or proudly," from Middle French vanter "to praise, speak highly of," from Late Latin vanitare "to boast," frequentative of Latin vanare "to utter empty words," from vanus "idle, empty" (see vain). Related: Vaunted; vaunting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper