bombast

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   pompous, inflated language with little real meaning

   The speech offered patriotic bombast instead of a practical plan.

2. 2
   noun

   cotton or other soft material used as padding in clothing, in historical use

   The tailor packed the doublet with bombast to create a broader silhouette.

From Old French bombace ("cotton, wadding"), ultimately from Greek bombyx ("silkworm; silk"). Because bombast was used to stuff and enlarge clothing, the word came to describe speech or writing inflated with high-sounding language.

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