bravado
Showy feigned courage
Bravado is a bold or swaggering display of confidence, often masking fear or uncertainty.
It suggests performance rather than genuine courage—the loud boasting before a fight, the defiant pose when cornered: His bravado crumbled when they called his bluff.
The word carries a note of skepticism about whether the boldness is real.
Proud, showy gait
- panacheFlamboyant confidence of manner
- cockinessBrash overconfidence
- arroganceExcessive self-importance
- saunterRelaxed, aimless stride
jauntiness · flashiness · showmanship · ostentation · flamboyance · grandiosity · self-assurance · boldness
Promise harm or punishment
- bullyHabitual intimidator
- domineerRule through intimidation
- menaceSource of potential harm
- overaweSubdue by inspiring dread
bluster · cow · daunt · unnerve · frighten · scare · browbeat · intimidate
Calculated false front
- postureBody position, alignment
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- charadeAbsurd or obvious pretense
- feignPretend to have
affectation · sham · pose · act · facade · front · pretense · show
strut
Proud, showy gait
- panacheFlamboyant confidence of manner
- cockinessBrash overconfidence
- arroganceExcessive self-importance
saunter · jauntiness · flashiness · showmanship · ostentation · flamboyance · grandiosity · self-assurance · boldness · brashness
threaten
Promise harm or punishment
overawe · bluster · cow · daunt · unnerve · frighten · scare · browbeat · intimidate · posturing
bluff
Calculated false front
- postureBody position, alignment
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- charadeAbsurd or obvious pretense
feign · affectation · sham · pose · act · facade · front · pretense · show · display
testosterone
Chief male sex hormone
manly · masculine · tough-guy · macho · tough · rugged · swaggering · chest-beating
- intimidationthreats, threatening, menacing, intimidate, bullying
- swashbucklersswashbuckler, swashbucklers, swashbuckling, pirate, pirates
- machomachismo, macho man, alpha male, tough guy, testosterone
- locker room talkcrude jokes, dirty jokes, trash talk, smack talk, bragging
- blusterboast, boasting, rant, bragging, swagger
- aggressionhostility, violence, attack, fight, combativeness
bravadomodesty
Absence of vanity
humility · restraint · reserve · understatement · diffidence
bravadocowardice
Absence of bravery
quiet strength · fear · fearfulness · inner fortitude · timidity
bravadofear
Emotional response to threat
cowardice · fearfulness · timidity · trepidation · apprehension
- Costa BravaCatalonia's northeastern coastal region