bravado

/brəˌvɑˈdoʊ/

/brəˈvɒdəʊ/

Other forms: bravadoes; bravados

If you act with bravado, you are making a bold showy statement. Picture a cowboy bursting through saloon doors in an old western, and you can picture bravado.

The noun bravado is derived from the French and Italian words meaning "bragging and boasting," and it is related to the word bravo. Today, the word means an almost-over-the-top amount of courage, but it can also be used (often with the word false) to mean a false show of bravery: "It was her first day in the classroom and she was almost shaking with fear, but with false bravado — she took a deep breath and turned to face her students — 20 kindergartners."

Definitions of bravado

1. noun

   a swaggering show of courage
   synonyms: bluster

   type of:

   fanfare, flash, ostentation

   a gaudy outward display