as in rhetoric
marked by the use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases
a bombastic speech intended to impress the voters in her congressional district
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bombastic
Among the 100 outfits on display are some bombastic, kite-like contraptions, bulbous pileups of fabric donuts, and a Chewbacca-esque cape-cum-sarcophogus.
—
Miles Socha, Footwear News, 25 June 2025
Levin’s lunch with Trump is a testament to the bombastic radio and TV host’s wide influence on the right.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
Months later, Musk's bombastic plan to slash the bureaucracy has been blunted by a flurry of legal challenges that allege DOGE overstepped its authority, circumvented privacy laws, and disregarded protocols for shrinking the workforce.
—Stephen Fowler, NPR, 16 June 2025
Brewer’s Duke exudes a bombastic attitude with a self importance that exceeds his actual necessity outside of his finances.
—Rick Mauch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bombastic
Miles Socha, Footwear News, 25 June 2025
Levin’s lunch with Trump is a testament to the bombastic radio and TV host’s wide influence on the right.
—Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 18 June 2025
Months later, Musk's bombastic plan to slash the bureaucracy has been blunted by a flurry of legal challenges that allege DOGE overstepped its authority, circumvented privacy laws, and disregarded protocols for shrinking the workforce.
—Stephen Fowler, NPR, 16 June 2025
Brewer’s Duke exudes a bombastic attitude with a self importance that exceeds his actual necessity outside of his finances.
—Rick Mauch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for bombastic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bombastic
rhetorical
Adjective
-
Trump and Carter are hardly the first pair of presidents to pour rhetorical oil on troubled waters, but the historical results, as with today, are mixed at best.—
Bruce Yandle,
Twin Cities,
10 July 2025
-
By asking Grok to use X posts as a primary source and rhetorical inspiration, xAI is sending the large language model into a toxic landscape where trolls, political propagandists, and outright racists are some of the loudest voices.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
8 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bombastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bombastic. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share