magniloquent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of magniloquent
1650–60; back formation from Latin magniloquentia elevated language, equivalent to magniloqu ( us ) speaking grandly ( magni- magni- + loqu ( ī ) to speak + -us adj. suffix) + -entia -ence
Explanation
If you want to impress people, you might try using magniloquent language. That is, fancy and flowery language. For instance, you could use the word magniloquent, which come to think of it, is a magniloquent word itself. Magniloquent may remind you of the word eloquent, which describes a way of speaking that is articulate, persuasive, and carefully chosen. Magniloquent shares the Latin root loqui, “speak,” with eloquent and also describes a way of speaking. However, magniloquent describes speech that sounds very intelligent and important, but may in fact have little substance. Another adjective that sounds similar and conveys the same meaning is grandiloquent. Other synonyms include bombastic, pompous, and highfalutin.
Vocabulary lists containing magniloquent
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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.
Boris Johnson has long spun political gold from his magniloquent tongue, using what some linguists and observers say bombastic language, esoteric vocabulary, occasional crudity and episodes of bumbling bluster.
From Reuters • Jul. 23, 2019
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with the Revolution succeeded by the reign of Napoleon, that meant history painting: magniloquent tableaus — battles, shipwrecks, coronations — in which myth and reality met.
From New York Times • Jan. 24, 2013
"His pages so teem with fine sayings and magniloquent epigrams, gorgeous images, and fantastic locutions," said Critic W. E. Henley, that "the mind would welcome a little dullness as a glad relief."
From Time Magazine Archive
Leslie's defiantly magniloquent homages to Caravaggio and David, with pink, corn-fed flesh licked by brusque, sweaty highlights.
From Time Magazine Archive
The painter's palette, charged with color, is the instrument with which he thrills a melody to the eye, even as the magniloquent organ or the sigh-breathing flute speak to the ear.
From The Continental Monthly , Vol. 2 No. 5, November 1862 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various
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.
