bravado
Americannoun
plural
bravadoes, bravadosnoun
Related Words
See courage.
Other Word Forms
- overbravado noun
Etymology
Origin of bravado
First recorded in 1575–85; from Spanish bravada (now bravata, from Italian ), equivalent to brav(o) “brave” + -ada noun suffix; see origin at brave, -ade 1
Explanation
If you act with bravado, you are making a bold showy statement. Picture a cowboy bursting through saloon doors in an old western, and you can picture bravado. The noun bravado is derived from the French and Italian words meaning "bragging and boasting," and it is related to the word bravo. Today, the word means an almost-over-the-top amount of courage, but it can also be used (often with the word false) to mean a false show of bravery: "It was her first day in the classroom and she was almost shaking with fear, but with false bravado — she took a deep breath and turned to face her students — 20 kindergartners."
Vocabulary lists containing bravado
Grade 10, List 1
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Lord of the Flies
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100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Maybe it was the underbelly of all of the bravado and power-seeking—some desire to counter all the validation with the humiliation of knowing that, deep down, he’s just a revolting little worm.
From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026
But he criticised Hegseth's "brashness, the bravado, the bulldozing of questions" in briefings.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
On the battlefield, the situation is far more complex — and dangerous — than the administration’s bravado suggests.
From Salon • Mar. 2, 2026
MIAMI—In recent weeks, family members of a group of Cuban dissidents who overheard their making plans to “liberate Cuba” dismissed the talk as the kind of bravado that is common among Cuban-American exiles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
With his customary bravado, he reported that the first calutron in the big magnet would start separating uranium isotopes within three weeks.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
