Boastingly

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /ˈbəʊstɪŋli/

Definitions

1. In a manner that conveys an inflated sense of self-esteem and pride while often emphasizing personal achievements or superiority over others
2. Displaying excessive self-satisfaction and arrogance when demonstrating one's own merits or successes in a conversation
3. In a manner characterized by arrogant self-importance and an exaggerated display of personal accomplishments or superiority over others

Etymology: "Boastingly" is a plain formation: the adjective "boasting" with the adverb-forming suffix "-ly" attached. "Boasting" comes from "boast," which is the verb for talking about one's achievements or possessions in a way meant to impress others, and the "-ing" ending turns it into a participle-based adjective describing someone who does so. Adding "-ly" to such an adjective produces an adverb describing how an action is done, so a person who speaks boastingly speaks in that self-congratulatory manner. The suffix "-ly" itself descends from an Old English word meaning "body" or "form," which is why it came to mark adjectives as adverbs by describing the shape or manner of an action. Attaching it to a participle like "boasting" is a common and productive pattern in English, and the resulting adverb carries the same sense of showing off that the root verb already contains.