bombastic

English

WOTD – 3 January 2008

Alternative forms

• bombastical (archaic)
• bombastick (obsolete)
• bumbastic, bumbastical (obsolete)

Etymology

bombast (“padding, stuffing”) +‎ -ic, 18th century. Sense evolution possibly influenced by unrelated bomb and bombard; see also bombard phrase.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /bɒmˈbæs.tɪk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /bɑmˈbæs.tɪk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æstɪk

Adjective

bombastic (comparative more bombastic, superlative most bombastic)

1. (of a person, their language or writing) showy in speech and given to using flowery or elaborate terms; grandiloquent; pompous

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:verbose, Thesaurus:arrogant

   Antonyms: see Thesaurus:concise

2. High-sounding but with little meaning.
3. (archaic) Inflated, overfilled.

   Synonyms: inflated, turgid

Related terms

• bombast
• bombaster
• bombastically

 

Descendants

• → French: bombastique
• → Portuguese: bombástico
• → Spanish: bombástico

Translations

pompous or overly wordy

• Bulgarian: надут (bg) (nadut), претенциозен (bg) (pretenciozen), превзет (bg) (prevzet)
• Finnish: bombastinen (fi), mahtipontinen (fi)
• French: ampoulé (fr), boursouflé (fr), enflé (fr), pompeux (fr)
• German: bombastisch (de), geschwollen (de), pompös (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: φυσώδης (phusṓdēs)

• Hungarian: bombasztikus (hu), cikornyás (hu), dagályos (hu)
• Irish: mórfhoclach
• Italian: ampolloso (it), pomposo (it), magniloquente (it) m
• Macedonian: на́дуен (náduen), по́мпезен (pómpezen), високо́парен (visokóparen)
• Maori: wahahuka
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bombastisk, svulstig

  Nynorsk: bombastisk, svulstig

• Polish: pompatyczny (pl)
• Portuguese: bombástico
• Russian: напы́щенный (ru) (napýščennyj), помпе́зный (ru) (pompéznyj), высокопа́рный (ru) (vysokopárnyj)
• Slovak: bombastický
• Spanish: bombástico, altilocuente (es), altílocuo (es), altisonante (es), altísono (es), ampuloso (es), grandilocuente (es), grandílocuo (es), hinchado (es), hueco (es), pomposo (es), rimbombante (es)

high-sounding but with little meaning

• Bulgarian: голословен (bg) (golosloven)
• Finnish: mahtipontinen (fi)
• French: abscons (fr), verbeux (fr)
• German: bombastisch (de)
• Hungarian: fellengzős (hu)
• Irish: mórfhoclach
• Macedonian: изве́штачен (izvéštačen), по́мпезен (pómpezen)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: høystemt, høyttravende (no)

  Nynorsk: høgstemt, høgttravande, høgttråvande

• Polish: górnolotny (pl)
• Russian: напы́щенный (ru) (napýščennyj), помпе́зный (ru) (pompéznyj)

inflated, overfilled

• German: bombastisch (de)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bombastisk, svulstig

  Nynorsk: bombastisk, svulstig

• Polish: napuszony (pl)
• Spanish: bombástico

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from German bombastisch.

Adjective

bombastic m or n (feminine singular bombastică, masculine plural bombastici, feminine and neuter plural bombastice)

1. bombastic

Declension

Declension of bombastic

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	bombastic		bombastică	bombastici	bombastice
	definite	bombasticul		bombastica	bombasticii	bombasticele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	bombastic		bombastice	bombastici	bombastice
	definite	bombasticului		bombasticei	bombasticilor	bombasticelor