boastful

/ˈbəʊstfʊl/

//ˈbəʊstfʊl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"boastful" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“boastful” is uncommon English (frequency #52,811 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,811
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tending to boast or brag.

Corpus desk

Index EN-boastful · boastful · English

boastful · rank #52,811 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,811
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blogpost

Nearest frequency peer: blogpost (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “boastful”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “boastful” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for boastful
PropertyValue
Headwordboastful
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbəʊstfʊl/
Letters8
Frequency rank#52,811
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “boastful” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).boastfulfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “blogpost” (#52,810), “boatman” (#52,812), “Blacksburg” (#52,809). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “boastful” is #52,811. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

boastful is uncommon English at frequency #52,811 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈbəʊstfʊl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Tending to boast or brag.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for boastful in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bostful, equivalent to boast + -ful. The correct English form is boastful, spelled B-O-A-S-T-F-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tending to boast or brag.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how boastful appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He wrote a boastful autobiography, recording all his great deeds.
  2. It makes one's blood boil, yet heart tremble, to think that we Englishmen and our American descendants, with their boastful cry of liberty, have been and are so guilty

Etymology

From Middle English bostful, equivalent to boast + -ful.

Synonyms

boastfulbraggingcrowinggasconadegloriousspread-eagleswaggeringthrasonicthrasonicalvaunting

Antonyms

humblemodestquietshysilent

This word in other languages

jactancioso(Español)vantard(Français)prahlerisch(Deutsch)orgulhoso(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "boastful"?
"boastful" is spelled B-O-A-S-T-F-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbəʊstfʊl/.
What does "boastful" mean?
As an adjective, "boastful" means: Tending to boast or brag.
How do you pronounce "boastful"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "boastful" is /ˈbəʊstfʊl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "boastful"?
From Middle English bostful, equivalent to boast + -ful. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "boastful", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

blogpost#52,810bogeyman#52,813braiding#52,821cashless#52,840

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list