Bombastic

//bɒmˈbæs.tɪk// adj

adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    showy in speech and given to using flowery or elaborate terms; grandiloquent; pompous

    "Dorsett came up the stairs, buggy whip in hand. He bustled into the office in his usual self-important way. Frank noticed that the old clerk sat down on him promptly. He was not one bit impressed with the bombastic visitor from Greenville."

  2. 2
    High-sounding but with little meaning.
  3. 3
    Inflated, overfilled. archaic
Adjective
  1. 1
    ostentatiously lofty in style wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
declamatoryhigh flowninflatedturgidairyarrogant

Example

More examples

"In the most bombastic manner we call this the "richest nation on earth," and boast of our "untold millions of surplus products," while in fact we are always within a few months of starvation and nakedness."

Etymology

From bombast (“padding, stuffing”) + -ic, 18th century. Sense evolution possibly influenced by unrelated bomb and bombard; see also bombard phrase.

More for "bombastic"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.