Words / C2

gran-DIL-uh-kw-uh-nt/ɡrænˈdɪləkwənt/

Grandiloquent means using long, pompous words to impress (formal / disapproving): grandiloquent speeches, a grandiloquent style. Pompous and long-winded are everyday cousins; grandiose (this batch) is over-ambitious in scale, not only in diction. Loquacious (already in the dictionary) is talkative. Do not call a precise legal term grandiloquent.

Meaning

Using long, pompous words to impress (formal / disapproving).

Examples

• “A grandiloquent preface is not a sample-size sentence.”
• “Pompous is everyday. Grandiose is showy ambition (this batch). Eloquent is skilful and usually praise. Needed technical words are not grandiloquence. If a shorter word does the job, use it.”

Good to know

Pompously high-flown (speech). Everyday: pompous. Contrast: grandiose (scale); eloquent (praise). A needed legal term is not the target.

Near in meaning

pompous

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