as in rhetoric
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
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
Climate change is causing various ant species of Colorado’s Gregory Canyon to alter their traditional ranges, the shells of East Coast mussels to grow more porous, herring to arrive earlier in the Wadden Sea, and Australian scientists to urge the breeding of less flatulent cows.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for flatulent
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
Climate change is causing various ant species of Colorado’s Gregory Canyon to alter their traditional ranges, the shells of East Coast mussels to grow more porous, herring to arrive earlier in the Wadden Sea, and Australian scientists to urge the breeding of less flatulent cows.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for flatulent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flatulent
rhetorical
Adjective
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Trump’s broadside against the UN is the latest salvo in a broader rhetorical battle about the value of multilateral organizations like it compared with the bilateral partnerships and deals favored by the current US administration.—
Morgan Chalfant,
semafor.com,
26 Sep. 2025
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Using his encyclopedic knowledge of House rules and his deft rhetorical skills, Adams could spin any floor debate into one about the issue of slavery.—
Time,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flatulent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flatulent. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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