Bumptious: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Bumptious adjective. Irritatingly self-assertive and pleased with yourself.
How to say it
BUMP-shus/ˈbʌmpʃəs/
2 syllables, stressed on the first (BUMP).
Bumptious in a sentence
A bumptious new partner lectured the founders on how to run their own firm.
He was bumptious at twenty and is, mercifully, much quieter at forty.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- pushy
- self-important
- cocksure
- brash
Opposite:
- modest
- unassuming
Where bumptious comes from
A jokey coinage from bump, on the pattern of fractious, first found around 1800.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
He was _____ at twenty and is, mercifully, much quieter at forty.
- munificent
- ingenious
- bumptious
Show the answer
bumptious: He was bumptious at twenty and is, mercifully, much quieter at forty.