magniloquent

[ mag-nil-uh-kwuhnt ]

adjective

1. speaking or expressed in a lofty or grandiose style; pompous; bombastic; boastful.

magniloquent

/ mæɡˈnɪləkwənt /

adjective

1. (of speech) lofty in style; grandiloquent

Derived Forms

• magˈniloquence, noun
• magˈniloquently, adverb

Other Words From

• mag·nilo·quence noun
• mag·nilo·quent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of magniloquent¹

1650–60; back formation from Latin magniloquentia elevated language, equivalent to magniloqu ( us ) speaking grandly ( magni- magni- + loqu ( ī ) to speak + -us adj. suffix) + -entia -ence

Word History and Origins

Origin of magniloquent¹

C17: from Latin magnus great + loquī to speak

Example Sentences

His star power is based on brains and brawn; he can recite magniloquent phrases while also giving the impression that he could fillet an enemy, Jason Bourne style, armed with only a Bic pen.

From New York Times

Boris Johnson has long spun political gold from his magniloquent tongue, using what some linguists and observers say bombastic language, esoteric vocabulary, occasional crudity and episodes of bumbling bluster.

From Reuters

Just as often, her commentary about The Times consists of magniloquent pronouncements like, “The enterprise, whatever else it is, has almost ceased altogether to be a newspaper.”

From New York Times

Mr. Coetzee’s new novel, “The Childhood of Jesus,” begins like a homage to a book from another writer who works the stern and magniloquent side of the tracks: “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy.

From New York Times

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with the Revolution succeeded by the reign of Napoleon, that meant history painting: magniloquent tableaus — battles, shipwrecks, coronations — in which myth and reality met.

From New York Times