1
as in rhetoric
boastful speech or writing
the other world leaders at the international conference had little interest in being subjected to the president's bombast
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2
as in grandiloquence
language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere
you need less bombast and more substance in this speech on human rights
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of bombast
This response is far removed from the typical hype and bombast that is the natural language of Hollywood executives.
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Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 26 Nov. 2024
So the standard bombast, exaggeration and borderline slander of a major political campaign is traditionally understood to be out of place.
—Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 17 Nov. 2024
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, one of the mainstays of the twentieth-century orchestral repertory, ends with an unapologetic display of musical bombast.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Despite bombast and threats, Mike Pompeo’s lobbying efforts in Europe against Huawei met with only mixed success.
—Garrett M. Graff, WIRED, 16 Jan. 2020
See all Example Sentences for bombast 
Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 26 Nov. 2024
So the standard bombast, exaggeration and borderline slander of a major political campaign is traditionally understood to be out of place.
—Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 17 Nov. 2024
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, one of the mainstays of the twentieth-century orchestral repertory, ends with an unapologetic display of musical bombast.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Despite bombast and threats, Mike Pompeo’s lobbying efforts in Europe against Huawei met with only mixed success.
—Garrett M. Graff, WIRED, 16 Jan. 2020
See all Example Sentences for bombast
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bombast
Noun
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However, much of the rhetoric online around looters seems steeped in racist sentiment.CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 10 Jan. 2025
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In this upcoming moment of truth for Illinois, the speaker has the opportunity to give power to that rhetoric, which many on the GOP side don’t believe for a minute.The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Much of that singularity was centered in McCarthy’s prose, which ricocheted—sometimes gracefully, sometimes jarringly—between gruff matter-of-factness and soaring, biblical grandiloquence.Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 13 June 2023
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Several of them can fly, and all have at least a touch of grandiloquence to them.Michael Nordine, Variety, 11 Aug. 2022
Noun
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After all, marketing itself is somewhat narcissistic, with its continual cries for attention and thinly veiled braggadocio.Martin Kihn, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
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Since then, the rise of social media has been marked, among other dreadful things, by lifestyle braggadocio and algorithms fine-tuned to serve scarily relevant ads.Ron Lieber, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Noun
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The humble brag is a new shiny toy for some people.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
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The brag quickly caught the attention of Swift fans across social media, who rushed to attack Spector while defending Swift.Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 19 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Most of the psychological handwringing is thus offloaded to Garner, who proves that her terrified facial expressions are truly top shelf, and the switch of perspectives is an interesting pivot from the usual how-do-I-tame-my-inner-predator bluster.David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 Jan. 2025
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The results, which are beautifully austere, flooded by sunlight but somehow cold, infuriate Van Buren, played with a masculine bluster by Guy Pearce, who sounds as if his idea of the Breakfast of Champions was a bowl of ground glass drowned in whole milk.Tom Gliatto, People.com, 3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Natural light plus background chatter plus the smell of coffee equals better stories for you.Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 2 Jan. 2025
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Close losses have been the bane of their season so far, but games like Wednesday’s can help with stacking wins and quelling trade chatter, even if for just another day.James Jackson, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near bombast
Cite this Entry
“Bombast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bombast. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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