bombastic

[bom-bas-tik]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bombastic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

Nearby words

Also bom·bas·ti·cal.

Origin of bombastic

First recorded in 1695–1705; bombast + -ic

SYNONYMS FOR bombastic

pompous, grandiloquent, turgid, florid, grandiose.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bombastic ON THESAURUS.COM

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

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Nicolas Sarkozy has broken his studied silence in a bombastic op-ed.
Sarkozy’s Surveillance Scandal|Tracy McNicoll|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Through all the fun, the burlesque, the amusing exaggerations and the bombastic humor runs a scheme of advice and instruction.
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 10|Charles Herbert Sylvester
What an academic swell of bombastic cadences, strung together to enforce his tirades!
The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 4 (of 6)|Hippolyte A. Taine
The proceedings of the young poet were quite new to me, and struck me even more than the bombastic tenor of his poetical effusion.
rminius Vambry, his life and adventures|rminius Vambry
Little drops of water is better than all 167 that bombastic stuff.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
They say that he lacked inspiration, and was vulgar, bombastic, and grandiloquent.
Library Of The World's Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol 4|Charles Dudley Warner