bravado

noun

Definition of bravadonext
as in arrogance
confident or brave talk or behavior that is intended to impress other people His stories are always told with bravado. I remember his youthful bravado.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bravado McMillan was aware of his big game in the moment on Sunday, and even shouted out Smith on the sideline, shoving his face in a camera and letting out some playful bravado like Smith once did. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026 Mauricio Pochettino’s new-look group has youth, some bravado, and even now enough collectiveness to give the coach and those around the program significant optimism. — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 Another example is ridicule and mockery of stingy or braggadocious individuals, which keeps greed and bravado in check. — Christopher Von Rueden, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2026 No, that’s not false bravado masking insecurities about blowing it. — Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bravado
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bravado
  1. arrogance
  2. attitude
Noun
  • McVay and Snead have effectively built a culture of arrogance.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • These fascinating, illuminating episodes raise the question of whether great fiction requires the kind of single-mindedness and even arrogance that McCarthy cultivated.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of arrogance
Noun
  • Above 5%, however, attitudes began to shift and yields suddenly starting looking like an attractive entry point, compensating even for the risk of inflation above 3%.
    — Fred Imbert,Sean Conlon,Hugh Leask, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The underlying racial attitudes have persisted, Chapel said, contributing to present-day inequalities such as Black infant mortality.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of attitude

Browse Nearby Words

bratty
bravado
brave
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Bravado.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bravado. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All