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
2a : to blow in stormy noisy gusts a cold, blustering windb : 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
Explore Merriam-Webster
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
-
While candidate Trump blustered about scrapping the nuclear deal altogether, his administration has been compelled to shy away from such drastic unilateral action.
-
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.
-
Despite intense backlash from customers and advocates, several federal investigations, and blustering lawmakers, the company has yet to drop the soaring price of its epinephrine auto-injectors, EpiPen, as The New York Times pointed out this weekend.
-
As Dexter Filkins recently wrote, in , some officials fear that Trump will bluster about terrorism in public but privately delegate strategy to the military.
-
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.
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
bluster
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
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
-
So far, neither bluster nor entreaty has succeeded.
-
Without being bad, he's constantly being upstaged, primarily by Bower's flamboyance, Meaney's bluster and DeJonge's radiantly winsome pluckiness.
-
Yet, fans knew that under the bluster there was a brave man, a good man, one that never needed to prove himself since Thor always had his back.
-
Bitcoin’s first felon is in his favorite mode: full-on bluster.
-
Bars, bottoms and bluster make for great bulges of black humor in the novels of the prolific Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou.
-
This is not the first time that Trump, the former star of reality TV and tabloids, has manufactured a melodrama that begins with bluster but often ends with a whimper.
-
People who knew him from Powell's said he was given to one-sided conversations full of bluster.
-
While Oz may have been more bluster than actual magician , Barrymore and Kato are conjuring up some success in the wine industry.
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
see 1bluster
BLUSTER Defined for English Language Learners
bluster
playDefinition of bluster for English Language Learners
-
: to speak in a loud and aggressive or threatening way
-
of wind : to blow loudly and violently
bluster
Definition of bluster for English Language Learners
-
: words that are loud and aggressive
BLUSTER Defined for Kids
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
Learn More about bluster
-
See words that rhyme with bluster Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for bluster Spanish Central: Translation of bluster Nglish: Translation of bluster for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of bluster for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up bluster? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!