Word of the Day: BOMBASTIC
Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing
bombastic (adj) - sounding impressive or important but actually empty or of little meaning; overly pompous or grandiose [bom-bas-tik]
bombast is overinflated, grandiose, or excessively elaborate speech
BREAKDOWN: The sound and meaning of bombastic suggests that the word is somehow related to bomb, but its origin is actually cotton. The Old French word bombast meaning padding or stuffing comes from the Latin bombax, which itself was influenced by older languages. Thus we can see that bombastic describes language that is overly padded but contains little real meaning.
“Real confidence has no bluster or bombast. It's not rooted in a desire to seem better than everyone else and it's not driven by a fear of appearing weak. Real confidence settles in when you have a clear vision of exactly what you need to do.” —Rob Brezsny
[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not derived from classical roots.]