Blustering
adj, noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A noisy blowing, as of a blast of wind. countable, uncountable
"He will soon disregard the roaring of your eloquence, as the bold sailor contemns the blustering of the winds […]"
- 2 Swaggering; braggartry; noisy pretension. countable, uncountable
"Boasting and blustering are as objectionable among nations as among individuals, and the public men of a great nation owe it to their sense of national self-respect to speak courteously of foreign powers just as a brave and self-respecting man treats all around him courteously."
- 1 present participle and gerund of bluster form-of, gerund, participle, present
- 1 Engaged in or involving the process of blustering, speaking or protesting loudly.
"But when we began to renue our old acquaintance, and to shake the handes of discontinued familiaritie, alas, good Gentleman, his mandillion was ouercropped, his witt paunched like his wiues spindle, his art shanked like a lath, his conceit as lank as a shotten herring, and that same blustering eloquence as bleake and wan as the Picture of a forlorne Loouer."
- 2 Pompous or arrogant in one's speech or bearing.
"The Old Inquirer, said Dick Honesty, in' visiting the sick, has seen too many bold, blustering Infidels, in this nasty condition, to entertain the smallest penchant either for their principles, or their exqusitely delightful exits."
- 3 Very windy; (of wind) blowing very strongly, blustery.
"The southern wind Doth play the trumpet to his purposes, And by his hollow whistling in the leaves Foretells a tempest and a blustering day."
- 1 blowing in violent and abrupt bursts wordnet
Example
More examples"Such thoughts revolving in her fiery mind, / straightway the Goddess to AEolia passed, / the storm-clouds' birthplace, big with blustering wind."
Etymology
By surface analysis, bluster + -ing.
More for "blustering"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.