If you describe someone as bombastic, you are criticizing them for trying to impress other people by saying things that sound impressive but have little meaning.
[disapproval]
He was vain and bombastic.
...the bombastic style adopted by his predecessor.
Synonyms: grandiloquent, inflated, ranting, windy More Synonyms of bombastic
bombastic in American English
(bɑmˈbæstɪk)
adjective
using or characterized by high-sounding but unimportant or meaningless language; pompous; grandiloquent
SYNONYMY NOTE: bombastic refers to speech or writing that is pompous and inflated and suggests extravagantverbal padding and little substance; , grandiloquent suggests an overreaching eloquence and implies the use of grandiose, high-flown languageand an oratorical tone; , flowery language is full of figurative and ornate expressions and high-sounding words; , euphuistic is applied to an extremely artificial style of writing in which there is a strainingfor effect at the expense of thought; , turgid implies such inflation of style as to obscure meaning
Derived forms
bombastically (bomˈbastically)
adverb
Examples of 'bombastic' in a sentence
bombastic
When you combine that with bombastic music and visual clichés it makes for an exhausting hour.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Either way, they made this noble symphony sound bombastic and sometimes comical.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Other pieces might show the company's mettle in less bombastic fare.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Good Kill is less bombastic but has made a bigger impact with critics.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is a huge scent, beloved of perfume historians but a little too bombastic for modern sensibilities.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Although chaotic in structure and bombastic in style, this documentary has a more involving narrative than many feature films.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Many stewards were taken aback at the prospect of such a drawn-out dispute and the union appears less bombastic this time around.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It's a tad far-fetched and the bombastic soundtrack gets a little bruising after a while.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
(adjective)
the bombastic style of his oratory
Synonyms
grandiloquent
She attacked her colleagues for indulging in `grandiloquent' language.
inflated
Some of the most inflated prose is held up for ridicule.
ranting
windy
I have a horror of turning into a windy old bore.
high-flown
Many personnel were put off by such high-flown rhetoric.
pompous
She winced at his pompous phraseology.
grandiose
Not one of his grandiose plans has ever come to anything.
histrionic
wordy
His speech is full of wordy rhetoric.
verbose
When drunk, he becomes pompous and verbose.
declamatory
She has a reputation for making bold, declamatory statements.
fustian
magniloquent
He waxed magniloquent on the cultivation of turnips.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of declamatory
She has a reputation for making bold, declamatory statements.
Synonyms
rhetorical,
theatrical,
inflated,
high-flown,
pompous,
turgid,
bombastic,
discursive,
grandiloquent,
fustian,
orotund,
stagy,
magniloquent
in the sense of grandiose
Definition
impressive, or meant to impress
Not one of his grandiose plans has ever come to anything.
Synonyms
pretentious,
ambitious,
extravagant,
flamboyant,
high-flown,
pompous,
showy,
ostentatious,
bombastic
in the sense of high-flown
Definition
extravagant or pretentious
Many personnel were put off by such high-flown rhetoric.