blustered; blustering
ˈblə-st(ə-)riŋ 
1
: to talk or act with noisy swaggering threats
brags and blusters but rarely does what he says he'll do
2
a
: to blow in stormy noisy gusts
a cold, blustering wind
b
: to be windy and boisterous
… when autumn blusters and the orchard rocks.—
Robert Browning
Robert Browning1
: to utter with noisy self-assertiveness
"I don't want to hear it!" he blustered.
2
: to drive or force by blustering
… trying to bluster us into the belief that they are much better than they look.—F. A. Swinnerton
F. A. Swinnerton1
: a violent boisterous blowing
… the strong breeze driving them was setting up a bluster on the water.—Rose Thurburn
Rose Thurburn2
: violent commotion
They do their work without bluster or ostentation.—Stanley Walker
Stanley Walker3
: loudly boastful or threatening speech
growing tired of his macho bluster
Synonyms of bluster
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Verb
Noun
Examples of bluster in a Sentence
Verb
He brags and blusters, but he never really does what he says he'll do.
“I don't want to hear it!” he blustered.
The wind blustered through the valley.
Noun
We were all tired of his macho bluster.
all the bluster in the campaign speech was intended to hide a lack of specifics
Recent Examples on the Web
Daniel Drake, The New York Review of Books, 16 May 2026
Juxtaposed to Colman Domingo’s blustering portrayal of Joe Jackson and Jaafar Jackson’s uncanny performance as his late uncle Michael, Long has found a way to make silence load-bearing.
—Zeba Blay, SELF, 21 Apr. 2026
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 23 May 2026
Yesterday in California, the physical world and the world of free-floating grievance and ideological bluster met once again, when two teenagers attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two others, before taking their own lives.
—Juliette Kayyem, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bluster
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Verb
Trump blustered and lied and displayed himself in the worst possible light, of course, but Reza Pahlavi, the Shah’s son who lives in the United States and who many Iranians had reluctantly come to regard as a possible leader, also played his hand extremely badly.
—Daniel Drake, The New York Review of Books, 16 May 2026
Juxtaposed to Colman Domingo’s blustering portrayal of Joe Jackson and Jaafar Jackson’s uncanny performance as his late uncle Michael, Long has found a way to make silence load-bearing.
—Zeba Blay, SELF, 21 Apr. 2026
Noun
The economic reality is that, despite Putin’s tough guy bluster and despite higher oil and gas prices as well as the unwise relaxation of energy sanctions on Russia, Putin’s house of cards is still more vulnerable than many realize.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 23 May 2026
Yesterday in California, the physical world and the world of free-floating grievance and ideological bluster met once again, when two teenagers attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two others, before taking their own lives.
—Juliette Kayyem, The Atlantic, 19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for bluster
Cite this Entry
“Bluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bluster. Accessed 27 May. 2026.
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