grandiloquent

English

WOTD - 7 November 2007    

Etymology

From Latin grandiloquus, from grandis (“great, full”) + loquor (“speak”)

Pronunciation

• (RP, US) IPA: /ɡɹænˈdɪl.ə.kwənt/ SAMPA: /gr{n"dIl.@.kW@nt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

grandiloquent (comparative more grandiloquent, superlative most grandiloquent)

1. (of a person, their language or writing) overly wordy, pompous, flowery, or elaborate.
   • 1898, William Graham Sumner, “The Conquest of the United States by Spain”, in War and Other Essays, Yale, published 1911, page 324:

     The American people believe that they have a free country, and we are treated to grandiloquent speeches about our flag and our reputation for freedom and enlightenment.

Translations

overly wordy or elaborate

Catalan: grandiloqüent (ca) n. Czech: velkohubý (cs) m. Finnish: mahtipontinen (fi), suurieleinen (fi) French: grandiloquent (fr)

Hungarian: szónokias (hu), dagályos (hu) Polish: górnolotny (pl) m., grandilokwentny (pl) m. Russian: напыщенный (ru) (napýščennyj) Spanish: grandilocuente (es), grandílocuo (es)

Synonyms

• (overly wordy or elaborate): bombastic, extravagant, flowery, ostentatious, pretentious, sesquipedalian

Related terms

• grandiloquacity
• grandiloquence
• grandiloquism
• grandiloquous
• grandiloquoy
• magniloquent

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French

Adjective

grandiloquent m. (f. grandiloquente, m. plural grandiloquents, f. plural grandiloquentes)

1. grandiloquent