bom·bas·tic

[bom-bas-tik]
adjective
(of speech, writing, etc.) high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious.
Also, bom·bas·ti·cal.


Origin:
1695–1705; bombast + -ic

bom·bas·ti·cal·ly, adverb
un·bom·bas·tic, adjective
un·bom·bas·ti·cal·ly, adverb


pompous, grandiloquent, turgid, florid, grandiose. Bombastic, flowery, pretentious, verbose all describe a use or a user of language more elaborate than is justified by or appropriate to the content being expressed. Bombastic suggests language with a theatricality or staginess of style far too powerful or declamatory for the meaning or sentiment being expressed: a bombastic sermon on the evils of cardplaying. Flowery describes language filled with extravagant images and ornate expressions: a flowery eulogy. Pretentious refers specifically to language that is purposely inflated in an effort to impress: a pretentious essay designed to demonstrate one's sophistication. Verbose characterizes utterances or speakers that use more words than necessary to express an idea: a verbose speech, speaker.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To bombastic
00:10
Bombastic is a GRE word you need to know.
So is specious. Does it mean:
to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly:
apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible:
Collins
World English Dictionary
bombast (ˈbɒmbæst) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  pompous and grandiloquent language
2.  obsolete material used for padding
 
[C16: from Old French bombace, from Medieval Latin bombāx cotton; see bombacaceous]
 
bom'bastic
 
adj
 
bom'bastically
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bombastic
1704, "inflated," from bombast (q.v.). Meaning "given to bombastic language" is from 1727.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The overblown effects feel bombastic rather than spellbinding.
No time is wasted on unnecessary frills or bombastic interpretations.
The predictably bombastic response from the largely left-leaning geologist
  profession is really getting old.
You are correct that my analogy was a little too bombastic.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT