grandiloquence
/ɡrænˈdɪləkwəns/ (bre, ipa) · /ɡrænˈdɪləkwəns/ (ame, ipa) · /gran-ˈdi-lə-kwən(t)s/ (ame, mw)
grandiloquence — noun
1. a way of speaking or writing that relies on fancy, drawn-out words and showy phr
a way of speaking or writing that relies on fancy, drawn-out words and showy phrases, used by someone trying to sound important or to win admiration rather than to make the meaning clear.
The senator's grandiloquence about freedom and destiny left the audience polite but unmoved.
abstract nouns as objects of admiration in formal political speech
Astrid found the wedding speech full of grandiloquence but empty of real warmth.
common collocation: full of grandiloquence
Reviewers praised the novel's honesty and the welcome absence of literary grandiloquence.
Darius cut the grandiloquence from his essay and replaced it with short, clear sentences.
The lawyer's grandiloquence in court drew quiet smiles from the older judges.
- bombast
near-synonym; equally pejorative, slightly more colloquial
- pomposity
focuses on the speaker's self-importance more than the language itself
- magniloquence
very close in meaning but even rarer; both come from the same Latin root
- verbosity
wordiness in general; not necessarily showy or self-important
- plain speech
direct, simple language without ornament
- concision
saying much with few words
用法筆記
Almost always pejorative — speakers use 'grandiloquence' to criticise overblown language, not to praise it. Frequently used with 'of', 'full of', or as the object of verbs like 'cut', 'avoid', 'reject'.