grandiloquent

English

WOTD – 7 November 2007

Etymology

From Middle French grandiloquent, from Latin grandiloquus, from grandis (“great, full”) + loquēns, present participle of loquor (“I speak”). Compare eloquent.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /ɡɹænˈdɪl.ə.kwənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

grandiloquent (comparative more grandiloquent, superlative most grandiloquent)

1. (of a person, their language or writing) Given to using language in a showy way by using an excessive number of difficult words to impress others; bombastic; turgid.
   • 1898, William Graham Sumner, “The Conquest of the United States by Spain”, in War and Other Essays, Yale, published 1911, page 324:

     The American people believe that they have a free country, and we are treated to grandiloquent speeches about our flag and our reputation for freedom and enlightenment.

Synonyms

• (overly wordy or elaborate): See Thesaurus:verbose

Related terms

• grandiloquacity
• grandiloquence
• grandiloquism
• grandiloquize
• grandiloquous
• grandiloquy
• magniloquent
• splendiloquent

 

Translations

overly wordy or elaborate

• Bulgarian: надут (bg) (nadut), високопарен (bg) (visokoparen)
• Catalan: grandiloqüent (ca) n
• Czech: velkohubý (cs) m
• Finnish: mahtipontinen (fi), suurieleinen (fi)
• French: grandiloquent (fr)
• Greek: μεγαλόστομος (el) (megalóstomos), μεγαλορρήμονας (megalorrímonas), πομπώδης (el) (pompódis)
• Hungarian: szónokias (hu), dagályos (hu)
• Latin: grandiloquus
• Polish: górnolotny (pl) m, grandilokwentny m
• Portuguese: grandiloquente (pt)
• Russian: напы́щенный (ru) (napýščennyj)
• Spanish: grandilocuente (es), grandílocuo (es), altisonante (es), altísono (es), rimbombante (es)

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin grandiloquus, remodelled after éloquent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡʁɑ̃.di.lɔ.kɑ̃/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Adjective

grandiloquent (feminine grandiloquente, masculine plural grandiloquents, feminine plural grandiloquentes)

1. grandiloquent

   Synonym: pompeux

Related terms

• grandiloquence

Further reading

• “grandiloquent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.