bombast
大言壮語
解説 Definition
派手で仰々しい言葉や表現、または内容が伴わない誇張された話し方。虚勢を張ることを意味する。
Bombast means speech or writing that sounds very grand and important but is too exaggerated and not truly meaningful. It is often used to criticize formal language that is meant to impress people. The word usually has a negative meaning.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
bombastic を知っていれば、その中身を表す名詞が bombast と覚えると残りやすい。響きが大きく派手で、言葉が“爆音”のようにうるさい感じを連想すると、内容より見栄えだけが大きい話し方に結びつく。boast は『自慢する行為』だが、bombast は『仰々しい言葉づかいそのもの』。political bombast, empty bombast のように、中身の薄さとセットで覚えると使い分けしやすい。
If you know "bombastic," bombast is the noun for that style of speech. The sound feels big and noisy, which matches language that is grand and showy but often empty. Compare it with boast: boast is the act of bragging, while bombast is the overblown wording itself.
例文
His speech was full of bombast but lacked substance.
彼のスピーチは仰々しさに満ちていたが、実質性に欠けていた。
His argument lacked substance and was little more than bombast.
彼の主張は実質性に欠け、ほぼ大言壮語に過ぎなかった。
She avoided bombast and spoke plainly about the real issues.
彼女は仰々しさを避け、実際の問題について率直に語った。
bombast の類義語・関連語
類義語
bombast の語源・成り立ち Etymology
中世ラテン語 bombax「綿」、さらにギリシャ語 bombyx「絹・蚕」にさかのぼる語です。もとは詰め物の綿を指し、そこから言葉だけをふくらませた「大げさな表現」へ転じました。関連語は bombastic。
Bombast comes from Medieval Latin bombax, meaning "cotton," ultimately from Greek bombyx, which referred to silk or silkworm. It first meant cotton padding or stuffing used to make clothes look fuller. From that image of artificial swelling, it came to mean language that is puffed up and overly grand; bombastic is from the same root.
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