bombast

noun

bom·bast | \ ˈbäm-ˌbast

Definition of bombast

: pretentious inflated speech or writing political bombast

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Did You Know?

The original meaning of "bombast" (now obsolete) is "cotton or any soft fibrous material used as padding or stuffing." It is derived through Middle French bombace, from Medieval Latin bombax, which means "cotton." "Bombax" in turn comes from "bombyx," a Latin and ultimately Greek word that means "silkworm" or "silk." Etymologists aren't certain why the shift from silk to cotton occurred, though one source attributes it to an error going back to the Roman scholar Pliny, who had reported that cotton was produced by an insect analogous to the silkworm. "Bombast" has been retained in modern English because it took on a figurative sense used in reference to speech or writing. Thus the basic sense of "stuffing or padding" has survived, but now the stuffing consists of words rather than cotton.

Examples of bombast in a Sentence

the other world leaders at the international conference had little interest in being subjected to the president's bombast you need less bombast and more substance in this speech on human rights

Recent Examples on the Web

But beyond the trademark hair, bombast and colorful private life, there are important differences. — Luke Reader, The Conversation, "Is Boris Johnson, Britain’s new prime minister, anti-immigrant, a homophobe, a bigot – or just politically expedient?," 24 July 2019 The 2016 Republican presidential debate at the Fox Theater in Detroit was full of rancor and bombast with most of the GOP candidates taking shots at Donald Trump and the New York businessman responding in kind. — Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit debate could make or break a candidate: Michigan is home to many flubs," 29 July 2019 In comparison, what AOC or Ilhan Omar says is mostly irrelevant, as is the most recent bombast abroad from an Iranian theocrat, a Russian functionary, or a Maoist in China. — Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "The Economy, Father of Us All," 23 July 2019 The Denver Nuggets invaded Oracle Arena in a swirl of confidence and media bombast, leading many to believe they were destined to win this year’s Western Conference. — Bruce Jenkins, SFChronicle.com, "The Warriors’ season crashed, but it was one to remember," 15 June 2019 But for a president known for falsehoods and crisis-churning bombast, the test of credibility appears far more daunting. — Peter Baker, New York Times, "As Trump Accuses Iran, He Has One Problem: His Own Credibility," 14 June 2019 So much of our politics, our public life, our public discourse can seem small and mean and petty—trafficking and bombast and insult and phony controversies and manufactured outrage. — WSJ, "Former President Barack Obama’s Remarks at McCain Memorial," 1 Sep. 2018 Colleagues soon found Kennedy to be an odd combination of bombast and self-effacement. — Massimo Calabresi, Time, "With Justice Kennedy Gone, It's Trump's Court Now," 28 June 2018 And the orchestral score, with particular emphasis on floaty woodwinds, choral arrangements, and thundering drums, preserves the fantasy-battling tone of a good Dota 2 session while also dialing back on drama or bombast. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Exclusive: Valve walks us through Artifact’s new demo, leaves us wanting more," 31 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bombast.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for bombast

earlier, "cotton or other material used as padding or stuffing," extension (with parasitic t) of bombace, bombage, going back to Middle English bombace, borrowed from Anglo-French bombés, bombace, borrowed from Medieval Latin bambac-, bambax, bombax (also banbax, bonbax) "cotton plant, cotton fiber or wadding," borrowed from Middle Greek bámbax, pámbax, going back to a Greek stem pambak- (as in pambakís "item of clothing, probably of cotton"), probably borrowed from Middle Persian pambak "cotton" (or from an unknown source from which both words were borrowed)

Note: At virtually all stages of this etymon's history there has been formal and semantic confusion with Latin bombyx "silk" and its congeners (hence the o in the English, French, and Latin forms; see note at bombazine), though the two words are very likely of distinct origin. The earliest European occurrence of the "cotton" word is pambakís, denoting an item of apparel in an epigram attributed to Myrinus (1st century b.c.e. or earlier) in the Palatine Anthology (VI, 254). In some manuscripts of Dioscorides' treatise on materia medica (1st century c.e.) bambakoeidḗs "cotton-like" is used in the description of a plant (other witnesses give bombykoeidḗs "silklike"). Greek bámbax and pámbax, as well as a derivative, bambákion, are attested in the 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia Suda/Souda, which cites the epigram by Myrinus (see Suda On Line at www.stoa.org/sol/). The Medieval Latin forms are well attested in texts of the Salerno medical school, as the Tractatus de aegritudinum curatione, part of the now lost Breslau Codex Salernitanus (ca. 1200); see citations under bombyx, sense 2, in the Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch.

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More Definitions for bombast

bombast

noun

English Language Learners Definition of bombast

formal : speech or writing that is meant to sound important or impressive but is not sincere or meaningful

See the full definition for bombast in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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bombast

Definition of bombast

Synonyms for bombast

Did You Know?

Examples of bombast in a Sentence

First Known Use of bombast

History and Etymology for bombast

English Language Learners Definition of bombast

bombast

Definition of bombast

Synonyms for bombast

Did You Know?

Examples of bombast in a Sentence

First Known Use of bombast

History and Etymology for bombast

English Language Learners Definition of bombast

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