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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bombast
That’s not just because Miller’s presence rings bittersweet given the actor’s real life struggles and controversies today, but also because this relatively modest affair lacks most of Levinson’s aesthetic and bombast.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026
Beirut — Strip away the bombast and superlatives.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
For all their bombast, the ICE and Border Patrol agents seemed to work no harder than any other faceless federal bureaucrats.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
In a city where architectural bombast has often been favored over architectural quality, the White House has stood apart for its grace and modesty.
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bombast
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026
Beirut — Strip away the bombast and superlatives.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026
For all their bombast, the ICE and Border Patrol agents seemed to work no harder than any other faceless federal bureaucrats.
—Daniel Brook, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
In a city where architectural bombast has often been favored over architectural quality, the White House has stood apart for its grace and modesty.
—Edward Keegan, Chicago Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bombast
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bombast
Noun
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Framed as a platform for addressing inequality, climate change and the rise of right-wing political movements, yet the rhetoric coming from it has raised questions in Washington and across the region about whether a more coordinated political counterweight to the United States is taking shape.—
Armando Regil Velasco,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
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People have been called pedants since the early modern period—pedante is a fifteenth-century Italian coinage for a professional teacher of Latin literature and rhetoric—but have been acting pedantically for millennia.—
Clare Bucknell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
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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This is another stride of lyricism, philosophy, I’m-the-best braggadocio, bravado.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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But for everything Gates said that might appeal to a frustrated Democrat like me, his Huntington Beach braggadocio continually won out.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Hammy magniloquence risks alienating viewers, not just for an evening but for life, as does obscurity.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
15 Mar. 2018
Noun
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In addition to Molyneux’s usual game design bluster, though, was a newfound enthusiasm for the idea of making money from simply playing a game.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
27 Apr. 2026
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Some five years later, amid a war between the US, Israel, and Iran, these islands dotted across the Strait of Hormuz are caught in a different kind of bluster.—
Adam Pourahmadi,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Insider Ian Rapoport will update those three with league chatter and trade buzz.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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Their laughs and chatter fill the countryside and one another’s hearts, the merriment binding them all together like caterpillars in one big cocoon.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bombast.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bombast. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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