grandiloquence
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of grandiloquence
1580–90; < Latin grandiloqu ( us ) speaking loftily ( grandi ( s ) great + -loquus speaking) + -ence
Explanation
Grandiloquence is a lofty, high-flown style of talking that has a lot of fluff but may lack substance. It’s too grand to be eloquent, so grandiloquence is usually annoying. Grandiloquence comes from the Latin word grandis for, yes, “grand” and loqui for “speak.”Grandiloquence is also related to loquacious (talkative), soliloquy (a solo speech), and other words about talk. Grandiloquence is a type of talk that is pompous and bombastic, full of pretty-sounding words and elegant turns of phrase that add up to nothing. Politicians who say nothing but make it sound important are masters of grandiloquence.
Vocabulary lists containing grandiloquence
List 7
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List 13
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The Great Santini
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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.
As is usually the case when His Grandiloquence gets into trouble, Jackson has a scapegoat.
From Time Magazine Archive
Meaning that she is as poor as a rat, Madam Grandiloquence.
From Leonore Stubbs by Walford, L. B.
Grandiloquence will produce, in the more intelligent of your audience, an amused smile, and while it is well to have your hearers smile with you, they should never have reason to smile at you.
From The Art of Lecturing Revised Edition by Lewis, Arthur M. (Arthur Morrow)
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.
