as in rhetoric
marked by the use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases
one of those fustian odes to patriotic duty that were so beloved by school teachers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in grandiloquence
language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere
a speech awash in old-fashioned fustian and bereft of all substance
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Recent Examples of fustian
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 6 June 2023
Noun
Freed of the architectural fustian of the Frick’s Gilded Age home, the art breathes anew, each painting in its own world rather than entwined with others as part of a decorative ensemble.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 6 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fustian
Noun
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Worthington said the rhetoric by Republicans in Pennsylvania is helpful, but limited in its effectiveness.—
Will McDuffie,
ABC News,
3 Nov. 2025
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The Iraq War exposed just how hollow our rhetoric of freedom and democracy was.—
Shadi Hamid,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The rhetorical battle over blame and ending the federal government shutdown is getting hotter, at least for some in Arizona’s congressional delegation.—
Ronald J. Hansen,
AZCentral.com,
22 Oct. 2025
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These messages are more than rhetorical escalation.—
Stephanie A,
The Conversation,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fustian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fustian. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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