grandiloquence
- noun
- /ɡrænˈdɪləkwəns/
- Literature
:
grandilocuencia
- His grandiloquence made even the simplest ideas sound impressive and important.
Examples
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For example, in the first stanza of Laberinto de Fortuna, Mena exalts King Juan II of Castile with grandiloquence: the King is powerful; a virtuous new Caesar.
Academic text (2003) -
He no longer cherished the Abbe's grandiloquence?
Fiction book (1992) -
With his customary grandiloquence, Villepin declared that Sarkozy has stained the French flag with shame.
Academic text (2011) -
The result was a new mixture of high and low, a kind of "shabby sublime" that applied the ambition and grandiloquence of the great modern lyric to the reality of mass society.
Academic text (2007) -
The politician's speech was full of grandiloquence, impressing the audience with its elaborate phrases.
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Many people appreciated her grandiloquence, but some felt it overshadowed the clarity of her message.
Synonyms
265
7.0
Words that sound impressive but have little real meaning
6
7.7
A way of acting like you are very important that annoys other people
1
8.6
Speech or writing that is too fancy and feels overdone
1
9.9
Very fancy or showy language that does not sound honest and is hard to understand
Language that uses big, fancy words to sound important
Language that tries to sound important but has little meaning
The use of very fancy, detailed language or style that feels too much
A thing or style with many decorative details
A way of speaking or writing that seems too serious and showy
Antonyms
How Ornate
Surface Forms
Morphology
grandiloquence = grandiloquent (semi-transparent) = grand + loqu + ence
The noun is a straightforward nominalization of the adjective 'grandiloquent' using the productive suffix '-ence'.
Etymology
Grandiloquence comes from Latin parts grand- meaning 'large' and loqui meaning 'to speak', the same root as in eloquent. So it literally means 'big speaking' and describes speech that uses big, impressive words to sound important but often seems pompous.