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
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
Slough House is headed by the slovenly, flatulent, and frequently intoxicated Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who routinely heaps verbal abuse on his staff but is nonetheless a brilliant spymaster in his own smelly way.
—Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flatulent
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
Slough House is headed by the slovenly, flatulent, and frequently intoxicated Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman), who routinely heaps verbal abuse on his staff but is nonetheless a brilliant spymaster in his own smelly way.
—Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for flatulent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatulent
Adjective
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The Four Freedoms Roosevelt named were not rhetorical ornaments offered as inspiration so much as a diagnosis.—
Philip Martin,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
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Most Venezuelans who are smart recognize that this is a rhetorical device.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Another agency investigation revealed that a former CPS employee defrauded the district of potentially more than $135,000 over three years by reporting false or inflated work hours, the report said.—
Hope Moses,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
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Investors also periodically rotated out of tech and into value areas of the market due to worries of inflated valuations in the AI trade.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
3 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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In addition, teams had to fix leaky ground support hardware used to load gaseous oxygen into Orion for its crew to breathe.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Jan. 2026
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Distilled water is water that has been boiled, causing the water molecules to return to a gaseous state and then condense back into liquid.—
Samantha Johnson,
Martha Stewart,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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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
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The dynamics have changed now—especially in the heart of the gassy Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
9 Aug. 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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Gothic visuals and bombastic performances are sure to pull horror buffs into Penny Dreadful's world.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Jan. 2026
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Trump’s rhetoric, if unusually bombastic, even unsettling, was nonetheless bound by existing institutions.—
Jason Blakely,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flatulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatulent. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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