chest puffing
Proud posture stance
Chest puffing is a display of dominance or bravado, from the posture animals adopt to appear larger and more threatening.
In humans, it describes behavior meant to intimidate or impress—boasting, posturing, or aggressive self-presentation: There was a lot of chest puffing before the negotiation, but they eventually reached a deal.
Often implies the display is more show than substance.
- struttingWalking with exaggerated pride
- posturingInsincere behavior for effect
- preeningGrooming with vanity
- swaggerConfident, boastful manner
- bravadoPretense of fearlessness
dominance · intimidation · peacocking · boasting · pride · rooster · gorilla · alpha male · territorial · pecking order · macho · arrogance · bluster · showing off · making a scene · power move · inflated · ego
- intimidationthreats, threatening, menacing, intimidate, bullying
- swaggerswagger, strut, strutting, peacocking, cockiness
- dominance displaysdisplay, alpha behavior, power stance, baring teeth, raised hackles
- aggressionhostility, violence, attack, fight, combativeness
- arrogancearrogant, conceited, pompous, vain, haughty
- showing offboasting, bragged, show off, bragging, boasted
chest puffingshrinking away
Withdrawing out of fear
cowering · self-deprecation · shrinking back · hunching · submissiveness
chest puffingquiet confidence
modesty · humility · self-deprecation · understatement · soft power
chest, puff, chests, puffs, puffed, puffing, puffy, puffiness