grandiloquent
/græn'diləkwənt/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Using high-flown, elaborate, or pompous language: Describes speech or writing that is excessively ornate, showy, or intended to sound impressive, often to the point of being insincere or empty.
- Lofty or extravagant in style: Characterized by a manner of expression that is elevated, bombastic, or pretentious.
Usage
- As an adjective:
- It is used to describe a person's manner of speaking or writing.
- It often carries a negative connotation, implying that the language is overblown and lacks substance.
- It can modify nouns like "speech," "oratory," "style," "language," "prose," or "manner."
Examples
- Adjective:
- The politician's grandiloquent promises failed to convince the skeptical audience.
- The novel was criticized for its grandiloquent prose, which many found difficult to read.
- He dismissed the proposal as mere grandiloquent rhetoric with no practical plan.
Advanced Usage
- "grandiloquent gesture": An exaggerated or theatrical action intended to create a dramatic impression, often seen as insincere.
- His grandiloquent gesture of donating a tiny sum was met with ridicule.
- "grandiloquent tone": A manner of speaking that is self-importantly lofty or bombastic.
- The manager addressed the team in a grandiloquent tone about "corporate synergies."
Variants and Related Words
- Grandiloquence (n): The quality of being grandiloquent; pompous or extravagant language.
- The speech was full of empty grandiloquence.
- Grandiloquently (adv): In a grandiloquent manner.
- He spoke grandiloquently about his minor achievements.
Synonyms
- Bombastic: High-sounding but with little meaning.
- Pompous: Affectedly grand, solemn, or self-important.
- High-flown: Extravagant or pretentious in language or style.
- Oratorical: Characteristic of an orator or public speaker, often implying a formal, rhetorical style.
- Magniloquent: (Very similar) Lofty and extravagant in language.
Antonyms
- Plain-spoken: Speaking in a direct, simple manner.
- Unadorned: Not decorated or elaborate; simple.
- Laconic: Using very few words.
- Down-to-earth: Sensible and practical.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing: This Shakespearean idiom (from ) perfectly captures the essence of grandiloquent speech—lots of noise and passion but no real meaning.
- To blow one's own trumpet: To boast about one's own achievements, which is often done in a grandiloquent manner.
Adjective
- puffed up with vanity
- a grandiloquent and boastful manner
- overblown oratory
- a pompous speech
- pseudo-scientific gobbledygook and pontifical hooey- Newsweek
- lofty in style
- he engages in so much tall talk, one never really realizes what he is saying