vaunt 1 of 2

vaunt

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word vaunt distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of vaunt are boast, brag, and crow. While all these words mean "to express pride in oneself or one's accomplishments," vaunt usually connotes more pomp and bombast than boast and less crudity or naïveté than brag.

vaunted his country's military might

In what contexts can boast take the place of vaunt?

The words boast and vaunt are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, boast often suggests ostentation and exaggeration, but it may imply a claiming with proper and justifiable pride.

boasts of every trivial success
the town boasts one of the best museums in the area

When could brag be used to replace vaunt?

Although the words brag and vaunt have much in common, brag suggests crudity and artlessness in glorifying oneself.

bragging of their exploits

When is it sensible to use crow instead of vaunt?

The synonyms crow and vaunt are sometimes interchangeable, but crow usually implies exultant boasting or bragging.

crowed after winning the championship

Examples 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 vaunt
Verb
For a team as vaunted as UConn for its offensive attack that might seem out of character. NBC News, 7 Apr. 2024 The province supplements national allocations for children with hundreds of euros more per child and vaunts child-care programs, including one that certifies educators to turn their apartments into small nurseries. Gaia Pianigiani, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024 Chargers Chargers defense outplays vaunted Jets unit, keeping N.Y. out of end zone in road win Nov. 6, 2023 Austin Ekeler scored twice but averaged just 3.4 yards per carry and had two catches on seven targets. Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023 The Baltic states’ paranoia about Russia now seems well founded, and Finland and Sweden’s once vaunted neutrality no longer appropriate. Tom Tugendhat, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2022 See all Example Sentences for vaunt 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vaunt
Verb
  • His Facebook page, which boasts 27 friends, is mostly related to his time in the Army, with photos and videos of guns and what appears to be him in training.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Resume: The Broncos recorded an NFL-best 63 sacks this season while boasting a top-three run defense and a top-three red-zone defense.
    Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • And Åberg being a handsome freak hitting clutch shots and actually getting to show some swagger is a huge win.
    Brody Miller and Hugh Kellenberger, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Hunk of the moment Glen Powell, from nostalgia blockbusters Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters, lends his cowboy swagger in the same role the Austrian muscleman occupied.
    A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • One of them recently bragged about sabotaging previous iterations of the ceasefire proposals.
    Mike Brest, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Taking civilian hostages is a war crime, and negotiating with a group that brags about taking them is more like negotiating with the Joker than with Nelson Mandela.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Gratitude is the opposite of selfishness, egotism, avarice or narcissism.
    Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 27 Nov. 2024
  • But by trying to avoid how Trump’s past reflects his current approach to politics—his zero-sum relationship to power, his pettiness and egotism—while simultaneously winking at viewers’ knowledge of him, the film lands itself in a trap.
    Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • In the end, the movie delivers an official narrative, sufficiently heroic—with sanitized flaws calibrated to modern tastes for ambiguity and irony, such as self-importance, cantankerousness, even romantic deceit.
    Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2024
  • Psychologists call this a hallmark of grandiose narcissism, a trait characterized by self-importance and a deep need for validation.
    Mark Murphy, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • She was getting winded on our walk, and her prattle was broken up by heavy breaths.
    Joshua Cohen, The New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2024
  • The larcenous prattle is, in this sense, a typically Wiig-ian set piece: sunny, strained and flailing for dignity.
    Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
Noun
  • The unknowing apprentice blabs about red hair and more to Cressida, who then takes the information to blackmail Penelope into paying her a huge sum.
    Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 13 June 2024
  • But things turn sour when Eloise blabs about Colin helping Pen to Cressida and another one of the ladies nearby hears it … and well, gossip is meant to be spread right?
    Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 16 May 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near vaunt

Cite this Entry

“Vaunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vaunt. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

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