bombastic

[bom-bas-tik]

See more synonyms for bombastic on Thesaurus.com

adjective

(of speech, writing, etc.) high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious.

Also bom·bas·ti·cal.

Origin of bombastic

First recorded in 1695–1705; bombast + -ic

Related formsbom·bas·ti·cal·ly, adverbun·bom·bas·tic, adjectiveun·bom·bas·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Synonyms for bombastic

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

pompous, grandiloquent, turgid, florid, grandiose.

Synonym study

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bombastic

grandiose, rhapsodic, histrionic, aureate, balderdash, declamatory, flowery, fustian, high-flown, highfalutin, inflated, loudmouthed, magniloquent, orotund, ostentatious, overblown, ranting, rhetorical, sonorous, swollen

Examples from the Web for bombastic

Contemporary Examples of bombastic

It opens with a bombastic set piece, but it was far less compelling than many of the little, dialogue-driven conflicts that arose.
‘Game of Thrones’ Interactive FanFiction: Whoops, My Friend Was Speared in the Throat
Alec Kubas-Meyer
December 13, 2014
In a TiVo age, who watches political ads anyway, no matter how specious or bombastic?
Is Big Money Politics an Overblown Evil?
David Freedlander
August 2, 2014
And most live music is bombastic, because that's the only way to make money in 2014.
Beck’s Musical Time Machine: This Wasn’t a Concert. It was a Spectacular Party.
Andrew Romano
April 18, 2014
Nicolas Sarkozy has broken his studied silence in a bombastic op-ed.
Sarkozy’s Surveillance Scandal
Tracy McNicoll
March 22, 2014
You would never know that Larson was infamous in evangelical circles for his bombastic showmanship by talking to him.
My $295 Skype Exorcism
Scott Bixby
February 6, 2014

Historical Examples of bombastic

Besides all which, even the report of his wealth seemed to him, he said, bombastic nonsense.
Hellenica
Xenophon
His language in those telegrams and letters was highfaluting and bombastic.
England and Germany
Emile Joseph Dillon
It was bombastic stuff, but my blind, boyish belief in it gave it dignity.
A Son of the Middle Border
Hamlin Garland
And to think, in a moment of spite, I'd have given it to that bombastic warrior!
Two Men of Sandy Bar
Bret Harte
There is a great deal of ostentation and bombastic pomp about it.
Venice
Dorothy Menpes

Word Origin and History for bombastic

adj.

1704, "inflated," from bombast + -ic. Meaning "given to bombastic language" is from 1727.