Adjacent Words

Boast definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BOAST, v.i. [Gr. to inflate; L. fastus.]
1. To brag,or vaunt one's self; to make an ostentatious display, in speech, of one's own worth, property, or actions.
2. To glory; to speak with laudable pride and ostentation of meritorious persons or things.
I boast of you to them of Macedonia. St. Paul. 2. Cor.9.
Usually, it is followed by of; sometimes by in.
3. To exalt one's self.
With your mouth you have boasted against me. Ezek.
BOAST, v.t. To display in ostentatious language; to speak of with pride, vanity or exultation, with a view to self-commendation.
Lest men should boast their specious deeds.
1. Magnify or exalt.
They boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. Psalms 49.
2. To exult in confident expectation.
Boast not thyself of tomorrow. Proverbs 27.
BOAST, n. Expression of ostentation, pride or vanity; a vaunting.
Thou makest thy boast of the law. Romans 2
1. The cause of boasting; occasion of pride, vanity, or laudable exultation.
Trial by peers is the boast of the British nation.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: speaking of yourself in superlatives [syn: boast, boasting, self-praise, jactitation] v
1: show off [syn: boast, tout, swash, shoot a line, brag, gas, blow, bluster, vaunt, gasconade]
2: wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner; "she was sporting a new hat" [syn: sport, feature, boast]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English boost Date: 14th century 1. the act or an instance of boasting ; brag 2. a cause for pride • boastful adjective • boastfully adverb • boastfulness noun II. verb Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. to puff oneself up in speech ; speak vaingloriously 2. archaic glory, exult transitive verb 1. to speak of or assert with excessive pride 2. a. to possess and often call attention to (something that is a source of pride) <boasts a new stadium> b. have, contain <a room boasting no more than a desk and a chair> • boaster noun Synonyms: boast, brag, vaunt, crow mean to express pride in oneself or one's accomplishments. boast often suggests ostentation and exaggeration <boasts of every trivial success>, but it may imply a claiming with proper and justifiable pride <the town boasts one of the best museums in the area>. brag suggests crudity and artlessness in glorifying oneself <bragging of their exploits>. vaunt usually connotes more pomp and bombast than boast and less crudity or naïveté than brag <vaunted his country's military might>. crow usually implies exultant boasting or bragging <crowed after winning the championship>. III. transitive verb Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1823 to shape (stone) roughly in sculpture and stonecutting as a preliminary to finer work

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 intr. declare one's achievements, possessions, or abilities with indulgent pride and satisfaction. 2 tr. own or have as something praiseworthy etc. (the hotel boasts magnificent views). --n. 1 an act of boasting. 2 something one is proud of. Derivatives: boaster n. boastingly adv. Etymology: ME f. AF bost, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Boast Boast, v. t. [Of uncertain etymology.] 1. (Masonry) To dress, as a stone, with a broad chisel. --Weale. 2. (Sculp.) To shape roughly as a preparation for the finer work to follow; to cut to the general form required.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Boast Boast, n. 1. Act of boasting; vaunting or bragging. Reason and morals? and where live they most, In Christian comfort, or in Stoic boast! --Byron. 2. The cause of boasting; occasion of pride or exultation, -- sometimes of laudable pride or exultation. The boast of historians. --Macaulay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Boast Boast, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Boasted; p. pr. & vb. n. Boasting.] [OE. bosten, boosten, v., bost, boost, n., noise, boasting; cf. G. bausen, bauschen, to swell, pusten, Dan. puste, Sw. pusta, to blow, Sw. p["o]sa to swell; or W. bostio to boast, bost boast, Gael. bosd. But these last may be from English.] 1. To vaunt one's self; to brag; to say or tell things which are intended to give others a high opinion of one's self or of things belonging to one's self; as, to boast of one's exploits courage, descent, wealth. By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: . . not of works, lest any man should boast. --Eph. ii. 8, 9. 2. To speak in exulting language of another; to glory; to exult. In God we boast all the day long. --Ps. xliv. 8 Syn: To brag; bluster; vapor; crow; talk big.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Boast Boast, v. t. 1. To display in ostentatious language; to speak of with pride, vanity, or exultation, with a view to self-commendation; to extol. Lest bad men should boast Their specious deeds. --Milton. 2. To display vaingloriously. 3. To possess or have; as, to boast a name. To boast one's self, to speak with unbecoming confidence in, and approval of, one's self; -- followed by of and the thing to which the boasting relates. [Archaic] Boast not thyself of to-morrow. --Prov. xxvii. 1

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(boasts, boasting, boasted) 1. If someone boasts about something that they have done or that they own, they talk about it very proudly, in a way that other people may find irritating or offensive. Witnesses said Furci boasted that he took part in killing them... Carol boasted about her costume... He's boasted of being involved in the arms theft... We remember our mother's stern instructions not to boast. VERB: V that, V about/of n/-ing, V about/of n/-ing, V, also V with quote [disapproval] • Boast is also a noun. It is the charity's proud boast that it has never yet turned anyone away... N-COUNT: oft N that, N prep 2. If someone or something can boast a particular achievement or possession, they have achieved or possess that thing. The houses will boast the latest energy-saving technology... VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bost (halal, "to praise"; kauchaomai, "to vaunt oneself," used both in a good and a bad sense): To praise God: "In God have we made our boast all the day long" (Ps 44:8); to praise oneself, to vaunt (Ps 10:3). In the New Testament the Revised Version (British and American) frequently translates "glory," where the King James Version has "boast," in a good sense (2Co 7:14). In the sense of self-righteousness (Eph 2:9; Ro 2:17,23). Boaster (alazon, "a braggart") occurs in the King James Version (Ro 1:30; 2Ti 3:2); the Revised Version (British and American) has "boastful."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. Brag, vaunt, gasconade, vapor, bluster, crow, crack, flourish, exalt one's self, magnify one's self, give one's self airs, talk big, ride a high horse. II. v. a. 1. Magnify (unduly), make much of, boast of, brag of. 2. (Sculp.) Shape roughly (as a block of marble). III. n. 1. Vaunt, brag, gasconade, rodomontade, vaporing, bravado, boasting, blustering, swaggering, fanfaronade, flourish of trumpets, much cry and little wool. 2. Cause of pride or laudable exultation.

Moby Thesaurus

aggrandize, be enfeoffed of, be possessed of, be seized of, blow, bluster, boastfulness, boasting, bombast, bounce, brag, braggadocio, braggartism, bragging, bravado, bully, catch, claim, cock-a-doodle-doo, command, conceit, crow, diamond, draw the longbow, ego-trip, enjoy, exalt, fanfaronade, fill, find, fish for compliments, flaunt, flourish, gasconade, gasconism, gem, glory, godsend, good thing, gush, have, have and hold, have in hand, have no self-doubt, have tenure of, heroics, hold, jactation, jactitation, jewel, know it all, mouth, occupy, parade, pearl, pique, plum, plume, possess, prate, preen, pride, pride and joy, prize, puff, quack, rodomontade, ruffle, show off, side, speak for Buncombe, squat, squat on, swagger, swash, swashbuckle, talk big, treasure, triumph, trophy, trouvaille, usucapt, vanity, vapor, vaunt, vauntery, vaunting, windfall, winner