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.

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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. 2019

Examples from the Web for grandiloquence

But in opposing the Bush-Cheney march to war, his grandiloquence changed to eloquence.
Remembering Robert Byrd|Paul Begala|June 28, 2010|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
He was young, and liked a bit of grandiloquence as well as another.
Phoebe, Junior|Mrs [Margaret] Oliphant
Mrs. Dodd smiled at the grandiloquence of youth, and told him he had mistaken her character.
Hard Cash|Charles Reade

It has the terseness of the French, without the grandiloquence of the Spanish, being derived directly from the Latin.
Petals Plucked from Sunny Climes|Sylvia Sunshine
In consequence it has a charm which the common efforts of mother-earth after grandiloquence can never possess.
The African Colony|John Buchan
It is a Parnassian Samain, but always personal, even in grandiloquence.
The Book of Masks|Remy de Gourmont

Word Origin and History for grandiloquence

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).

grandiloquence

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of grandiloquence

Examples from the Web for grandiloquence

grandiloquence