bluster

verb blus·ter \ ˈblə-stər \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Examples: bluster in a Sentence

Definition of bluster

blustered; blustering play \ˈblə-st(ə-)riŋ\

intransitive verb

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

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

—

blusterer

play \-tər-ər\ noun

See bluster defined for English-language learners

See bluster defined for kids

Examples of bluster in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of bluster from the Web

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
During the kids' first week back in school, a late-summer wind blustered up.

— logan ward, Popular Mechanics, "How to Build a Treehouse in the Backyard," 20 Mar. 2017
In another post, Mira Rapp-Hooper looked at five takeaways from Trump’s blustering rhetoric on North Korea.

— elizabeth n. saunders, Washington Post, "Five things Trump did on his summer vacation: A foreign policy roundup," 4 Sep. 2017
While candidate Trump blustered about scrapping the nuclear deal altogether, his administration has been compelled to shy away from such drastic unilateral action.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "The U.S. and Iran are heading toward crisis," 19 July 2017
As Dexter Filkins recently wrote, in , some officials fear that Trump will bluster about terrorism in public but privately delegate strategy to the military.

— david rohde, The New Yorker, "What Donald Trump Can Do to Help Stop Terrorism: Talk Less," 4 June 2017
But this long work gets bogged down with heavy-handed comedic episodes that last too long, mostly involving the crude, blustering Baron Ochs, a cousin of the Marschallin.

— anthony tommasini, New York Times, "Review: Renée Fleming’s Poignant Farewell to ‘Der Rosenkavalier’," 14 Apr. 2017
But at the end of the day, what Trump blusters about doesn't matter, at least this time—what matters is the Senate's actions that could hurt millions of Americans.

— megan friedman, Esquire, "Seth Meyers Breaks Down the 'Cartoonishly Evil' Trumpcare Bill," 27 June 2017

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.

Origin and Etymology of bluster

Middle English blustren, probably from Middle Low German blüsteren

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

bluster Synonyms

bluster

noun

Definition of bluster

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

—

blusterous

play \-t(ə-)rəs\ adjective

—

blustery

play \-t(ə-)rē\ adjective

See bluster defined for English-language learners

Examples of bluster in a Sentence

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 of bluster from the Web

The 25-track double-album finds Drake slashing his way through the muddy waters of hip-hop gossip, baby mama drama, and his contentious feud with Pusha T. Rather than bluff and bluster, Drizzy aims and fires with bullets of candor.

— carl lamarre, Billboard, "DJ Premier on Making Drake's 'Sandra's Rose' & Their Unfinished Song 'Sail' With Rick Ross," 29 June 2018
In the past, the US and South Korea have conducted their drills without any major modifications, regardless of North Korea’s bluster.

— alex ward, Vox, "North Korea is already getting concessions ahead of Trump-Kim talks," 18 May 2018
There is nothing bellicose here, not a hint of bluster.

— bob greene, WSJ, "The President and the Art of the Oil Painting," 23 Apr. 2018
Prior to that, Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, says bluff and bluster doesn’t help the U.S.

— Bloomberg.com, "’The Heat Is On’ Goldman Sachs, Mayo Says," 11 Aug. 2017
Those who knew Rodgers best said all that volume and bluster hid a sometimes insecure, but genuinely kind man and loyal friend.

— tod leonard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Phil Rodgers dies; San Diegan enjoyed golf successes playing, teaching," 26 June 2018
Morgan is excellent, bringing a sense of sincerity along with his usual gregariousness and bluster.

— matthew gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, "One more reason to love Tiffany Haddish," 20 June 2018
In what way would bluster against Canada impress Kim Jong Un at all or even register as something worthy of notice?

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "Trump adviser suggests president insulted Canada to impress Kim Jong Un.," 11 June 2018
Saban didn’t get his way this week, but behind the bluster probably was a plan to turn this development in Alabama’s favor.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Nick Saban Lost the Battle Over SEC Transfer Rules, but He May Win the War," 1 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of bluster

see ¹bluster

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1582

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

bluster Synonyms

Synonyms

babel, blare, cacophony, chatter, clamor, clangor, din, discordance, noise, racket, rattle, roar;

Antonyms

quiet, silence, silentness, still, stillness;

Near Antonyms

calm, hush, lull;

quietude, serenity, tranquillity (or tranquility);

Related Words

discord, dissonance;

commotion, furor, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurly-burly, rumpus, tumult, uproar;

clatter, jangle;

bang, blast, boom, clap, crack, crash;

BLUSTER Defined for English Language Learners

bluster

verb

Definition of bluster for English Language Learners

: to speak in a loud and aggressive or threatening way
of wind : to blow loudly and violently

bluster

noun

Definition of bluster for English Language Learners

: words that are loud and aggressive

BLUSTER Defined for Kids

bluster

verb blus·ter \ ˈblə-stər \

Definition of bluster for Students

blustered; blustering

1 : to talk or act in a noisy boastful way

2 : to blow hard and noisily strong winds blustering

bluster

noun

Definition of bluster for Students

: noisy violent action or speech

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bluster

Definition of bluster

blusterer

Examples of bluster in a Sentence

Recent Examples of bluster from the Web

Origin and Etymology of bluster

bluster Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

bluster

Definition of bluster

blusterous

blustery

Examples of bluster in a Sentence

Recent Examples of bluster from the Web

Origin and Etymology of bluster

bluster Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

BLUSTER Defined for English Language Learners

bluster

Definition of bluster for English Language Learners

bluster

Definition of bluster for English Language Learners

BLUSTER Defined for Kids

bluster

Definition of bluster for Students

bluster

Definition of bluster for Students

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