grandiose

[ gran-dee-ohs, gran-dee-ohs ]

adjective

1. affectedly grand or important; pompous:

   grandiose words.

   Synonyms: extravagant, high-flown, splashy, flamboyant, affected, pretentious

2. more complicated or elaborate than necessary; overblown:

   a grandiose scheme.

3. grand in an imposing or impressive way.
4. Psychiatry. having an exaggerated belief in one's importance, sometimes reaching delusional proportions, and occurring as a common symptom of mental illnesses, as manic disorder.

grandiose

/ ˌɡrændɪˈɒsɪtɪ; ˈɡrændɪˌəʊs /

adjective

1. pretentiously grand or stately
2. imposing in conception or execution

Derived Forms

• grandiosity, noun
• ˈgrandiˌosely, adverb

Other Words From

• gran·di·ose·ly adverb
• gran·di·ose·ness gran·di·os·i·ty [gran-dee-, os, -i-tee], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of grandiose¹

First recorded in 1830–40; from French, from Italian grandioso, from Latin grandi(s) “grand” + -ōsus adjective suffix ( -ose ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of grandiose¹

C19: from French, from Italian grandioso, from grande great; see grand

Synonym Study

Grandiose, showy, ostentatious, pretentious all refer to conspicuous outward display, either designed to attract attention or likely to do so. Grandiose and showy are alike in that they may suggest impressiveness that is not objectionable: the grandiose sweep of the arch; a fresh bouquet of showy zinnias. Grandiose, however, most often implies inflation or exaggeration to the point of absurdity: grandiose, impractical plans; a ridiculously grandiose manner. Showy sometimes suggests a meretricious gaudiness or flashiness: a showy taste in dress. Ostentatious, which refers to behavior or manner clearly designed to impress, also has negative connotations: an ostentatious display of wealth; an assumption of superiority too ostentatious to be ignored. Pretentious, like the preceding term, is always derogatory, implying falseness or exaggeration in claims made or implied: natural and straightforward, not pretentious; pretentious language designed to mask the absence of real content.

Example Sentences

Some of Trump’s plans, to be sure, are ludicrously grandiose—like his idea to replace all income taxes with tariffs—and will encounter either legal problems even with this radicalized Supreme Court or difficulty moving through what is likely to be a closely divided Congress either way.

From Slate

I’m not surprised if, like Anne Enright, the novelist from University College Dublin, writing for “On the Election” in the New York Review of Books, you vent your pent-up frustration over undecideds who are “lonely and sometimes pathetically grandiose.”

From Salon

Still, the incident helped Papadopoulos rise from obscurity: He served just 12 days in prison in 2018 but was happy to publish a book with the grandiose title Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump.

From Slate

Instead, elected officials and bureaucrats offer grandiose ideas, like making the Olympics car-free or closing off Wilshire Boulevard where it cuts through MacArthur Park.

From Los Angeles Times

It's why their love story is so grandiose in his head.

From Salon

Related Words

• ambitious
• bombastic
• flamboyant
• grand
• imposing
• lofty
• magnificent
• monumental
• noble
• pompous
• pretentious
• showy
• splashy