as in rhetorical
marked by the use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases
on election night TV's self-important pundits let loose a fusillade of flatulent pontifications
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Recent Examples of flatulent
Gary Oldman plays Jackson Lamb in the series, the curmudgeonly and flatulent chief of Slough House where all the MI5 misfits are sent.
—
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Led by Gary Oldman’s flatulent and sardonic Jackson Lamb, the ‘slow horses’ of Slough House prove weirdly effective, often confounding MI5’s Second Desk Diana Taverner (Kristen Scott-Thomas) and, as of Season 4, its First Desk Claude Whelan (James Tallis).
—Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 29 July 2025
This time, the technique is turned upon classic alien invasion movies of the Golden Age with liberal helpings of pure human stupidity as a seemingly peaceful first contact moment goes awry and gets bloody, leading to a solar system-ending flatulent finish.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 17 May 2025
The waggish jeer that subverts the Reich Chancellery, designed by Adolf Hitler's chief architect, Albert Speer, must have sent the woman who chastises children for flatulent folly into a tizzy.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flatulent
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Led by Gary Oldman’s flatulent and sardonic Jackson Lamb, the ‘slow horses’ of Slough House prove weirdly effective, often confounding MI5’s Second Desk Diana Taverner (Kristen Scott-Thomas) and, as of Season 4, its First Desk Claude Whelan (James Tallis).
—Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 29 July 2025
This time, the technique is turned upon classic alien invasion movies of the Golden Age with liberal helpings of pure human stupidity as a seemingly peaceful first contact moment goes awry and gets bloody, leading to a solar system-ending flatulent finish.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 17 May 2025
The waggish jeer that subverts the Reich Chancellery, designed by Adolf Hitler's chief architect, Albert Speer, must have sent the woman who chastises children for flatulent folly into a tizzy.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flatulent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatulent
Adjective
-
But both men benefit from a shock-and-awe rhetorical strategy.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
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Hosts sometimes have an argumentative style or adopt rhetorical strategies such as irony, jokes, and humor.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
13 May 2026
Adjective
-
Some even require dedicated facilities, leading to inflated costs.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
14 May 2026
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The new movie, by contrast, is an inflated meditation on fiction and reality.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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In some high pressure areas, the gaseous atmosphere becomes fluid — but the results of this study suggest these atmospheres could also be littered with rocks.—
Chelsea Gohd,
Space.com,
12 May 2026
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The current version runs on compressed gaseous hydrogen, which is limited by tank volume and energy density.—
Omar Kardoudi
May 11,
New Atlas,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
In 1997 the telescope photographed the gassy region inside the Trifid Nebula, which lies within the constellation Sagittarius.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
21 Apr. 2026
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While citrus forward, this sativa dominant strains blends sweet and gassy notes to create an aroma as complex as the high.—
Emily Earlenbaugh,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Leo opened his visit to Pompeii by meeting with sick and disabled people who are cared for by a charity center affiliated with the sanctuary, which Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, declared a pontifical basilica in 1901.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
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That public spat has overshadowed his pontifical tour of four African countries, which ended Thursday with a Mass for thousands of people in Malabo, the former capital of Equatorial Guinea.—
Claudio Lavanga,
NBC news,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Those reservations have been blown up by the bombastic presence of Alcaraz combined with Sinner’s stoicism, a synergy seen in full force at Roland Garros last year.—
José Criales-Unzueta,
Vanity Fair,
12 May 2026
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That claim sounds bombastic when much of the art world sees the headline grabbing Banksy as a guilty pleasure at best.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flatulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatulent. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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