bombastic

adjective

bom·​bas·​tic bäm-ˈba-stik 

: marked by or given to speech or writing that is given exaggerated importance by artificial or empty means : marked by or given to bombast : pompous, overblown

The spots that ran before the title game were even more bombastic: "The greatest rivalry ever …"

—Franz Lidz

bombastically

bäm-ˈba-sti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of bombastic

• rhetorical
• inflated
• pontifical

Examples of bombastic in a Sentence

a bombastic speech intended to impress the voters in her congressional district

Recent Examples on the Web

The language of science is measured and provisional; the language of politics is declarative and bombastic. —Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2025

The Safe Soss gear is a little less bombastic. —New Atlas, 27 Nov. 2025

The result was a bombastic action movie with a dark sense of humour. —Ian Stokes, Space.com, 26 Nov. 2025

Slow-motion footage from active shooter training courses, which is overlaid with bombastic opera and accented with a Ruben Östlund-like comic detachment. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

bombast + -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1648, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for bombastic

• aplastic
• dynastic
• dysplastic
• elastic
• fantastic
• gymnastic
• monastic
• sarcastic
• scholastic
• silastic
• stochastic
• aeroelastic