boastful

adjective

boast·​ful ˈbōst-fəl 

: given to or marked by boasting : expressing excessive self-pride

a vain, boastful man

A few of the … parents are downright boastful about their sons.

—Jane Gross

… journalists who are only too willing to take at face value the boastful pronouncements of the company's publicity department.

—Jeffrey Young

At the highest levels, the administration's response to the crisis has been sluggish, characterized by boastful rhetoric but stagnant funding.

—The Washington Post

boastfully

ˈbōst-fə-lē 

adverb

If her new acquaintance wants to talk about plants, she might mention a few of her own, never boastfully, but with a pleasant tone of surprise, as if her parlor palm and the other person's had coincidentally attended the same high school.

—David Sedaris

Of the confidence reposed in him by Hudig—the master—he was boastfully and obtrusively proud.

—Joseph Conrad

boastfulness noun

Villars' military and diplomatic career under two kings of France was enormously successful, but his boastfulness and cupidity were notorious.

—David Wykes

Examples of boastful in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the celeb-dense Broadway phenomenon du jour is Mulaney and Simon Rich’s All In with its boastful list of guest stars like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Fred Armisen. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 7 Jan. 2025

Prosecutors claimed that Barahona returned twice to the scene of the shooting and sent boastful text messages to friends. —Serena Lin, Austin American-Statesman, 15 May 2024

What people post on social media might be considered boastful, or celebratory depending on how an individual has been socialized. —Ellen Choi, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

Conversations with landlords have turned from boastful pride to cautious consideration. —Allen Buchanan, Orange County Register, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above