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
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And so the rhetorical support for Iran remains fierce and loud—on the streets, on television, and on social media.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026
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This is the familiar stage of rhetorical climbdown, indicating dawning awareness that a problem is more complicated than the president initially thought.—
S.E. Cupp,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Under-inflated tires actually force your vehicle to burn more fuel.—
Frankie McLister,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
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An analysis by a group of leading architects showed that only $329 million of that report’s $1 billion assessment for the city to remain in City Hall would be devoted to repairs, and even that estimate was, according to the architects, vastly inflated.—
Mark Lamster
Architecture Critic,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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When stars begin to run out of hydrogen, the fuel needed for nuclear fusion, the outward pressure of fusion decreases, causing the stars' gaseous outer layers to contract.—
Brett Tingley,
Space.com,
10 Mar. 2026
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The outer world that broke the pattern The outermost planet appears to be rocky rather than gaseous.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Aside from trying a different type of baby bottle or feeding position, there are other ways to soothe a gassy baby.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
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On one end of the spectrum, feeling backed up can leave you bloated, sluggish, gassy and uncomfortable.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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The bishops further authorized a new edition of the Roman Pontifical for pontifical Masses, expected to be completed by 2027, with Vatican approval pending for some rites, according to the Catholic News Agency.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Nov. 2025
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In its report, the pontifical commission highlights failures in the Italian church.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Anyone expecting Draper to be bombastic about his immediate prospects will be disappointed, however.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
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He was tasked with putting the film into theaters with that bombastic Imax sound.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flatulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatulent. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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