bluster

verb

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blus·ter | \ ˈblə-stər

blustered; blustering\ ˈblə-st(ə-)riŋ

Definition of bluster

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to talk or act with noisy swaggering threats brags and blusters but rarely does what he says he'll do

2a : 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

transitive verb

1 : 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

bluster

noun

Definition of bluster (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a violent boisterous blowing … the strong breeze driving them was setting up a bluster on the water.— Rose Thurburn

2 : violent commotion They do their work without bluster or ostentation.— Stanley Walker

3 : loudly boastful or threatening speech growing tired of his macho bluster

Other Words from bluster Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about bluster

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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: Verb Iran will bluster and threaten, but waging an all-out war with the U.S. would be suicidal, and Iran knows it. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "Iran’s Options in a Showdown with America Are All Bad," 9 Jan. 2020 At times, the actor’s florid portrayal of the quirky, blustering general evokes, of all people, Frank Morgan’s Wizard of Oz. — Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, "Subject and style are at war in flawed ‘Ben Butler’," 5 Aug. 2019 But as his host blustered, Mr Khan seemed to have little cause for concern. — The Economist, "America swaps its stick for a carrot in its dealings with Pakistan," 25 July 2019 Rather than endure a humiliating climb-down that would involve admission of cheating and the destruction of the new missiles, Putin is blustering new threats. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "As a Key Arms-Control Treaty Is Set to Die, Russia Threatens to Target U.S. with New Nukes," 20 Feb. 2019 And with that, Mai blustered through the mob with security on her tail. — Bianca Alysse, Billboard, "Ella Mai Wins New York City Over With Her Enchanting Concert at S.O.B.'s," 16 May 2018 During the same period, my stepmother got breast cancer, my mother-in-law had brain surgery, and Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un blustered on about nuclear war. — Jake Halpern, WSJ, "Drip, Drip: Why We Sweat the Small Stuff," 17 Apr. 2018 But as his host blustered, Mr Khan seemed to have little cause for concern. — The Economist, "America swaps its stick for a carrot in its dealings with Pakistan," 25 July 2019 Rather than endure a humiliating climb-down that would involve admission of cheating and the destruction of the new missiles, Putin is blustering new threats. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "As a Key Arms-Control Treaty Is Set to Die, Russia Threatens to Target U.S. with New Nukes," 20 Feb. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The nation is under siege by unresolved questions, from the Civil War to its debatable claim of exceptionalism and now the bluster of the Trump administration. — Alfredo Corchado, Washington Post, "What’s gone wrong in America? An outsider explains.," 3 July 2020 And in its current implementation, Fuser already needs more variety once the first-blush bluster wears off. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Harmonix’s Fuser wants to make you a DJ… but only up to a point," 30 June 2020 For all his public bluster, Bolton describes Trump as frequently uncertain, fretful and wobbly during difficult policy choices. — Josh Dawsey, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump asked China’s president for reelection help in 2020, Bolton writes in new book," 17 June 2020 Although Republicans are happy to dismiss the comments as bluster or efforts to gin up the Democratic Party's base, many aren't taking Biden's comments as a joke. — Joseph Simonson, Washington Examiner, "Democrats increasingly paranoid Trump won't leave office voluntarily if he loses," 12 June 2020 This bluster about the future of Russian space has been accompanied on social media. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Russia’s space leader seems pretty bitter about SpaceX’s success," 10 June 2020 But the President’s bluster couldn’t hide the fact that Republicans are increasingly concerned—and for good reason—about the way things are heading. — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, "Why the Polls Are Alarming for Donald Trump," 10 June 2020 Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas and Trump loyalist, stood ready to translate presidential bluster into concrete action. — Andrew J. Bacevich, The New Republic, "Will 2020 Finally Kill America’s War Fetish?," 9 June 2020 With his bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, ignorance, vanity, venality, bullishness, and bluster, Donald Trump epitomizes everything most Europeans loathe about the worst aspects of American power. — Gary Younge, The New York Review of Books, "What Black America Means to Europe," 6 June 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bluster.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.