grandiloquent
/ɡɹænˈdɪl.ə.kwənt/
grandiloquent means given to using language in a showy way by using an excessive number of difficult words to impress others; bombastic; turgid. It carries an Arena rating of 1999, earned across 17 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, grandiloquent ranks #377 of 17,118 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,717 of 17,122 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,778 of 17,114 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,868 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words.
grandiloquent is pronounced /ɡɹænˈdɪl.ə.kwənt/.
Why “grandiloquent” is a great word
Given to using language in a showy, pompous, or bombastic way, especially by employing an excessive number of difficult words to impress others. From Latin grandiloquus, from grandis (“great, full”) + loquus (“speaking”), from loqui (“to speak”), a term that has carried its critical edge since its English adoption in the sixteenth century. Unlike “eloquent,” which achieves clarity and grace, or “plainspoken,” which deliberately seeks simplicity, grandiloquent speech towers and teeters, a linguistic architecture of unnecessary pillars and gilded domes. It is the politician who refers to “the quotidian struggles of the hoi polloi,” the academic who writes “vis-à-vis the hermeneutic problematic,” the wedding toast that invokes “the ineffable concatenation of two souls” while the cake dries and the guests check their watches—the tragic comedy of a speaker so enchanted by the sound of their own voice that they forget anyone is meant to listen.
Etymology
From Middle French grandiloquent, from Latin grandiloquus, from grandis (“great, full”) + loquēns, present participle of loquor (“to speak”). Compare eloquent.
adj
- Given to using language in a showy way by using an excessive number of difficult words to impress others; bombastic; turgid.e.g.“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.”
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