as in rhetoric
marked by the use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases
one of those fustian odes to patriotic duty that were so beloved by school teachers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in grandiloquence
language that is impressive-sounding but not meaningful or sincere
a speech awash in old-fashioned fustian and bereft of all substance
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Recent Examples of fustian
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 6 June 2023
Noun
Freed of the architectural fustian of the Frick’s Gilded Age home, the art breathes anew, each painting in its own world rather than entwined with others as part of a decorative ensemble.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 6 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fustian
Noun
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Yet, historians have noted that his rhetoric and policies play into the individualist and patriotic characteristics associated with the beloved Western cowboy.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
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Republican rhetoric didn’t appear to give protesters pause in the Bay Area on Saturday, and local Republicans appeared to stay on the sidelines.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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These messages are more than rhetorical escalation.—
Stephanie A,
The Conversation,
15 Oct. 2025
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But Chicago and New York are Democratic strongholds and frequent targets of the president’s rhetorical ire, so the moves on spending are plainly perceived as a new front in the shutdown battle.—
Niall Stanage,
The Hill,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fustian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fustian. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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