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bumptious
[buhmp-shuhs]
adjective
offensively self-assertive.
a bumptious young upstart.
Synonyms: , , , ,
bumptious
/ ˈʌʃə /
adjective
offensively self-assertive or conceited
Other Word Forms
- bumptiously adverb
- bumptiousness noun
- overbumptious adjective
- overbumptiously adverb
- overbumptiousness noun
- unbumptious adjective
- unbumptiously adverb
- unbumptiousness noun
- ˈܳپdzܲ adverb
- ˈܳپdzܲԱ noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of bumptious1
Word History and Origins
Origin of bumptious1
Example Sentences
The stage for his artistic blossoming was set in 1482, when he left the rich mercantile city of Florence for the cruder, more bumptious northern city of Milan.
Classical in conception — right down to a repeat of the exposition material in the opening movement — it also contains traces of crunchy harmonic modernism and the bumptious sounds of vintage American jazz styles.
These dragons are not awaiting a human slayer, a bumptious avatar of St. George.
Similarly wide-ranging is León’s “Alma” — the lyrical opening of which follows a winding, entertaining path toward the bumptious rhythmic fillips of its central section.
Writing in The New York Times, the critic Roberta Smith described Mr. Bickerton’s pieces in that show as “the most bumptious, engaging and least didactic on view.”
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When To Use
For as fun as the word bumptious sounds, its meaning is more forceful. Bumptious is recorded in the late 1790s and is a blend of bump and fractious, meaning “unruly” or “irritable.” Bumptious bumps fractious up to the next level, meaning “offensively self-assertive.”Many more amusing Americanisms await in our slideshow "These Wacky Words Originated In The USA."
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