bombastic

English

WOTD – 3 January 2008

Alternative forms

• bombastick (obsolete)

Etymology

18th century, from bombast (“padding, stuffing”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɒmˈbæs.tɪk/
• IPA^(key): /bɑmˈbæs.tʰɪk/

• 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

   See Thesaurus:verbose or Thesaurus:arrogant

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

   Synonyms: inflated, turgid

Antonyms

• (pompous or overly wordy): See Thesaurus:concise

Related terms

• bombast
• bombaster
• bombastically

 

Descendants

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

Translations

pompous or overly wordy

• Bulgarian: надут (bg) (nadut), превзет (bg) (prevzet)
• Finnish: mahtipontinen (fi), bombastinen (fi)
• French: ampoulé (fr), enflé (fr), boursouflé (fr), pompeux (fr)
• German: bombastisch (de)
• Hungarian: bombasztikus (hu), dagályos (hu), cikornyás (hu)
• Irish: mórfhoclach
• Italian: pomposo (it), magniloquente (it) m, ampolloso (it)
• Maori: wahahuka
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian: bombastisk, svulstig

  Nynorsk: bombastisk, svulstig

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

high-sounding but with little meaning

• Bulgarian: голословен (bg) (golosloven)
• Finnish: mahtipontinen (fi)
• French: verbeux (fr), abscons (fr)
• German: bombastisch (de)
• Hungarian: fellengzős (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: mórfhoclach
• Norwegian: høyttravende (no), høystemt

  Nynorsk: høgttravande, høgttråvande, høgstemt

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

inflated, overfilled

• German: bombastisch (de)
• Norwegian: bombastisk, svulstig

  Nynorsk: bombastisk, svulstig

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: napuszony (pl)
• Spanish: bombástico