braggadocio
noun
Did you know?
Though Braggadocio is not as well-known as other fictional characters like Pollyanna, the Grinch, or Scrooge, in lexicography he holds a special place next to them as one of the many characters whose name has become an established word in English. The English poet Edmund Spenser originally created Braggadocio as a personification of boasting in his epic poem The Faerie Queene. As early as 1594, about four years after the poem was published, English speakers began using the name as a general term for any blustering blowhard. The now more common use of braggadocio, referring to the talk or behavior of such windy cockalorums, developed in the early 18th century.
Examples of braggadocio in a Sentence
Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Early in his career, Trump apprenticed himself to Roy Cohn, an unprincipled lawyer who taught the young Donald how to gain wealth and influence through ruthless bullying, profane braggadocio, opportunistic bigotry, baseless lawsuits, lying, and more lying.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2025
Like the opera, the film blends these disparate moods and tones at a whirlwind tempo: slapstick comedy and poignant melodrama, graceful lyricism and bumptious braggadocio, witty satire and bitter tragedy.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 July 2025
Scientific reliability is swapped out in exchange for braggadocio about disrupting a medical status quo that may not even need it.
—Arthur Caplan & James Tabery, Scientific American, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for braggadocio
Cite this Entry
“Braggadocio.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/braggadocio. Accessed 1 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
braggadocio
noun
from Braggadochio, a boasting character in literature
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