turgid
Americanadjective
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swollen; distended; tumid.
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inflated, overblown, or pompous; bombastic.
turgid language.
adjective
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swollen and distended; congested
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(of style or language) pompous and high-flown; bombastic
Other Word Forms
- turgidity noun
- turgidly adverb
- turgidness noun
- unturgid adjective
- unturgidly adverb
Etymology
Origin of turgid
1660–70; < Latin turgidus, equivalent to turg ( ēre ) to swell + -idus -id 4
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.
France ended their turgid November campaign with a lacklustre 48-33 win over the Wallabies after failing to live up to expectations as a swashbuckling side capable of challenging the world's best under coach Fabien Galthie.
From Barron's • Nov. 30, 2025
Though Godard later came to be synonymous with turgid, obtuse cinema, “Nouvelle Vague” is the opposite: a sprightly, effervescent ode to moviemaking as semi-controlled mischief.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
Even the most exhilarating of wins can be made to feel a tad turgid because of the ways of modern professional golf.
From BBC • Feb. 3, 2025
Mr. Dennett combined a wide range of knowledge with an easy, often playful writing style to reach a lay public, avoiding the impenetrable concepts and turgid prose of many other contemporary philosophers.
From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2024
The water itself was turgid, gray- green even on sunny days, oil slicked, and reeking of diesel fuel and seaweed.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
