bombastic

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

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

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

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -æstɪk
• Hyphenation: bom‧bas‧tic

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

   • 1907, Allen Chapman, Bound to Succeed:

     Dorsett came up the stairs, buggy whip in hand. He bustled into the office in his usual self‐important way. Frank noticed that the old clerk sat down on him promptly. He was not one bit impressed with the bombastic visitor from Greenville.

2. High‐sounding but with little meaning.
3. (colloquial) Loud, aggressive, highly exaggerated, or explosive in manner or delivery; over‐the‐top.
4. (archaic) Inflated, overfilled.

   Synonyms: inflated, turgid

Borrowed from German bombastisch.

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

1. bombastic