Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To speak or write about (something) in a strongly positive way; praise or boast about.
  • intransitive verb To speak boastfully; brag. synonym: boast.
  • noun A boastful remark.
  • noun Speech of extravagant self-praise.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To make a vain display of one's own worth, attainments, or powers; talk with vain ostentation: boast; brag.
  • To glory; exult; triumph.
  • To magnify or glorify with vanity; boast of; brag of.
  • To display or put forward boastfully; exhibit vaingloriously.
  • noun The first part; the beginning.
  • noun A vain display of what one is, or has, or has done; ostentation from vanity; a boast; a brag.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To boast; to make a vain display of one's own worth, attainments, decorations, or the like; to talk ostentatiously; to brag.
  • transitive verb To boast of; to make a vain display of; to display with ostentation. In the latter sense, the term usually used is flaunt.
  • transitive verb obsolete To put forward; to display.
  • noun obsolete The first part.
  • noun A vain display of what one is, or has, or has done; ostentation from vanity; a boast; a brag.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive To speak boastfully.
  • verb transitive To speak boastfully about.
  • noun A boast; an instance of vaunting.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb show off
  • noun extravagant self-praise

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English vaunten, from Old French vanter, from Late Latin vānitāre, to talk frivolously, frequentative of Latin vānāre, from vānus, empty; see euə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Anglo-Norman vaunter, variant of Old French vanter, from Latin vānus ("vain, boastful").

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Examples

  • The script may vaunt Eduardo and demonize Zuckerberg, but it also begs the question -- who would we rather be, given the way things turned out?

    Elizabeth Nicholas: There Goes Your Social Life Elizabeth Nicholas 2010

  • Well-heeled Chinese individuals aren't shy about flaunting their wealth, and it is one of the few markets in which manufacturers can openly vaunt the luxurious nature of their products.

    Business Jets Take Off in China David Pearson 2011

  • During the life of the empire, the term was reserved for Constantine's city, originally a Greek colony called Byzantion, whose inhabitants liked to vaunt their identity as "Byzantines."

    The Glories of Byzantium Judith Herrin 2011

  • The script may vaunt Eduardo and demonize Zuckerberg, but it also begs the question -- who would we rather be, given the way things turned out?

    Elizabeth Nicholas: There Goes Your Social Life Elizabeth Nicholas 2010

  • In point of boring h istorical fact, the mention of Persepolis in his hero's vaunt is a serious anachronism.

    The Greatest of Them All Tom Holland 2011

  • The script may vaunt Eduardo and demonize Zuckerberg, but it also begs the question -- who would we rather be, given the way things turned out?

    Elizabeth Nicholas: There Goes Your Social Life Elizabeth Nicholas 2010

  • That, and something more elementary into the bargain: not just a rhetorical vaunt but a phonetic vector as well.

    Phonemanography: Romantic to Victorian 2008

  • He was king of the blooddrinkers -- Kwa remembered Bele's vaunt.

    The Green-Eyed Shwemyethna 2010

  • He is even a member of a club called the Boosters, whose sole purpose is to celebrate and vaunt Zenith's virtues wherever possible.

    Books on Disgrace Rachel Cusk 2010

  • Time is also running out on Greg's ability to vaunt himself on such formulas as:

    Bill And Hillary Max Out To Obama, Giving $4,600 To His Campaign 2009

Comments

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  • When a product is described as 'vaunted', is that generally positive or negative? Who does the vaunting? Self-promoters or genuine enthusiasts?

    April 7, 2010