grandstanding

[gran-stan-ding, grand-]

noun

1. the act or practice of behaving or performing in a showy way in an attempt to impress others.

   With nearly 14 million unemployed, this grandstanding over such a comparatively small retraining program (only 10,000 people) is downright insulting.

adjective

1. being or engaging in this kind of behavior or performance.

   It’s a nice, quiet movie—no guns or car chases, no grandstanding actors, and not too fast-paced.

Word History and Origins

Origin of grandstanding¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; grandstand ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun; grandstand ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective

Example Sentences

This is one of those grandstanding populist ideas that won’t do much beyond deterring good businessmen and women from running for office.

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Instead, officials “chose grandstanding instead of the normal process” and arrested Williamson at home Wednesday, despite her being seriously ill and in need of a liver transplant, Scott said.

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Whatever the grandstanding of pundits, it can't have been an easy decision.

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But it is so firmly grounded in truthful and complicated detail drawn from Mr. Dunne’s actual experience that it makes its powerful moral argument without any need for grandstanding or preaching.

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There is more to Noah Lyles than just the showmanship, the grandstanding and the dyed orange hair.

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Related Words

• egocentric 
• egotistical www.thesaurus.com
• self-absorbed 
• self-indulgent 
• selfish