bombastic
Americanadjective
Related Words
Bombastic, flowery, pretentious, verbose all describe a use or a user of language more elaborate than is justified by or appropriate to the content being expressed. Bombastic suggests language with a theatricality or staginess of style far too powerful or declamatory for the meaning or sentiment being expressed: a bombastic sermon on the evils of cardplaying. Flowery describes language filled with extravagant images and ornate expressions: a flowery eulogy. Pretentious refers specifically to language that is purposely inflated in an effort to impress: a pretentious essay designed to demonstrate one's sophistication. Verbose characterizes utterances or speakers that use more words than necessary to express an idea: a verbose speech, speaker.
Other Word Forms
- bombastically adverb
- unbombastic adjective
- unbombastically adverb
Etymology
Origin of bombastic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“One of the problems is that capital-M ‘miracles’ have a tendency to be quite bombastic” in biblical entertainment, says Leshem, who directed most episodes of “The Saints.”
Also subtlety: The musical wilts under the weight of its many bombastic numbers and passages of clichéd dialogue.
They’re largely lost to time here, but fondly recalled there as bombastic dispatches from a cosmopolitan yet heartbroken immigrant community in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times
In stark contrast with the album’s bombastic, top-10 title track, the early version of “Born in the USA” featured on “Nebraska ’82” oozes with the pain, heartbreak and disillusion inherent in the song’s lyrics.
From Salon
The final product moves swiftly over 10 songs, the track list starts with a flurry of energy from the bombastic opening drums of “Better Days” that propel a song on inner reflection on the past.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
