grandiloquence

[gran-dil-uh-kwuh ns]

See more synonyms for grandiloquence on Thesaurus.com

noun

speech that is lofty in tone, often to the point of being pompous or bombastic.

Origin of grandiloquence

1580–90; < Latin grandiloqu(us) speaking loftily (grandi(s) great + -loquus speaking) + -ence

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

Related Words for grandiloquence

grandiosity, claptrap, magniloquence, eloquence, rant, fustian, turgidity, boastful, orotundity

Examples from the Web for grandiloquence

Contemporary Examples of grandiloquence

But in opposing the Bush-Cheney march to war, his grandiloquence changed to eloquence.
Remembering Robert Byrd
Paul Begala
June 28, 2010
Our central problem is that the combination of his grandiloquence and the September 2008 financial crisis led to his election.
I Told You So
Lynn Forester De Rothschild
February 28, 2010

Historical Examples of grandiloquence

He was young, and liked a bit of grandiloquence as well as another.
Phoebe, Junior
Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant
He adored eloquence, not to say grandiloquence: he was the son of a barrister.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond, Complete
George Meredith
It is a Parnassian Samain, but always personal, even in grandiloquence.
The Book of Masks
Remy de Gourmont
Mrs. Dodd smiled at the grandiloquence of youth, and told him he had mistaken her character.
Hard Cash
Charles Reade
I smiled inwardly at the grandiloquence of the tone, and yet, how true it was!
The City in the Clouds
C. Ranger Gull

Word Origin and History for grandiloquence

1580s, from Latin grandiloquentia, from grandiloquus "using lofty speech, bombastic," from grandis "big" (see grand (adj.)) + -loquus "speaking," from loqui "to speak" (see locution).