Showing results for "grandstanding"

• present participle of grandstand.

grandstanding

American  

[gran-stan-ding, grand-] / ˈgrænˌstæn dɪŋ, ˈgrænd- /

noun

1. the act or practice of behaving or performing in a showy way in an attempt to impress others.

   With nearly 14 million unemployed, this grandstanding over such a comparatively small retraining program (only 10,000 people) is downright insulting.

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adjective

1. being or engaging in this kind of behavior or performance.

   It’s a nice, quiet movie—no guns or car chases, no grandstanding actors, and not too fast-paced.

Etymology

Origin of grandstanding

First recorded in 1895–1900; grandstand ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun; grandstand ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grandstanding

Others see his comments as grandstanding meant to stoke investor excitement for what’s being sold as a godlike technology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

We’re going to have to get to a place where long-term deliberation is possible instead of short-term Instagram and TikTok, like little bits of information grandstanding as serious insight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

According to Kyslytsia, these dealings are business-like and generally free of the sort of political and historical grandstanding seen elsewhere by Moscow.

From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026

The U.S. and Malaysia have largely enjoyed warm relations over the years, notwithstanding occasional rhetorical grandstanding, especially on the part of former longtime Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2025

Nevertheless, several accomplished alpinists not on her team regarded Pittman as a grandstanding dilettante.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• egocentric
• egotistical
• self-absorbed
• self-indulgent
• selfish