bombastic

/bɔm'bæstik/

Friendly

Word: Bombastic

Part of Speech: Adjective

Definition: The word "bombastic" describes language or speech that is very fancy and elaborate but often lacks real meaning or substance. It's like using big words and complicated sentences to impress others, even if what is being said is not very important.

Usage Instructions:

• Use "bombastic" when you want to describe someone who uses overly grand language or makes big claims without enough evidence.
• It is often used in a negative sense, indicating that the language is more showy than useful.

Example Sentence:

• The politician’s bombastic speech was full of big promises, but many people felt it lacked real solutions to the problems facing the community.

Advanced Usage:

• You might encounter "bombastic" in discussions about literature, politics, or public speaking, where the effectiveness of communication is being evaluated.
• In academic writing, it might be used to critique a work that uses complicated language unnecessarily.

Word Variants:

• Bombast (noun): This refers to the pompous or pretentious speech or writing itself.
  • Example: The essay was filled with bombast, making it hard to understand the main ideas.
• Bombastically (adverb): This describes an action done in a bombastic manner.
  • Example: He spoke bombastically at the meeting, which annoyed his colleagues.

Different Meanings:

In general, "bombastic" is not used in a positive context. It is usually associated with exaggeration and a lack of genuine content.

Synonyms:

• Pompous
• Grandiloquent
• Ostentatious
• Pretentious
• High-flown

Idioms:

While there aren’t specific idioms that use "bombastic," you might hear phrases like "all style and no substance," which captures a similar idea.

Phrasal Verbs:

There aren’t common phrasal verbs directly associated with "bombastic," but you might encounter phrases like "talk up" or "talk big," which imply exaggerating or being overly confident in speech.

Summary:

To sum up, "bombastic" describes speech or writing that is overly elaborate and showy, often to the point of being empty.

Academic

Adjective

1. ostentatiously lofty in style
   • a man given to large talk
   • tumid political prose

Synonyms

• declamatory
• large
• orotund
• tumid
• turgid