bumptious

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbʌmpʃəs/ UK /ˈbʌmpʃəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
offensively self-assertive or conceited

His bumptious remarks soon alienated the whole committee.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · offensively self-assertive... conceited arrogant cocky presumptuous overbearing forward brashself-assertive

Opposites

modest humble self-effacing diffident unassuming

Word family

Derived forms bumptiousnessbumptiously

Etymology

An early-19th-century jocular coinage, blending bump with a mock-Latin ending modeled on words like presumptuous.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# bumptious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈbʌmpʃəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbʌmpʃəs/

## Meanings
1. offensively self-assertive or conceited

## Examples
- His bumptious remarks soon alienated the whole committee.

## Synonyms
- conceited
- arrogant
- cocky
- presumptuous
- overbearing
- forward
- brash
- self-assertive

## Antonyms
- modest
- humble
- self-effacing
- diffident
- unassuming

## Derived Forms
- bumptiousness
- bumptiously

## Etymology
An early-19th-century jocular coinage, blending bump with a mock-Latin ending modeled on words like presumptuous.

## AI Etymology
Bumptious is an early-19th-century jocular coinage, blending bump with a mock-Latin ending modeled on words like presumptuous. Used as an adjective, bumptious now means "offensively self-assertive or conceited", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as bumptiousness and bumptiously. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown