Something bombastic comes across as pompous or outlandish.
Rimbombante is an adjective that qualifies that which is bombastic . The verb rimbombar , for its part, comes from the Italian language and refers to what resonates, rings or sounds loudly .
For example: “We are tired of bombastic statements: we want actions instead of words” , “The singer became popular without scandals or bombastic phrases” , “The mayor surprised with a bombastic announcement about the district's schools” .
Etymology of bombastic
Delving into its etymology, we can notice that it ends with the Latin suffix -ante , used in the participles of the present, and that it begins with the fusion of two prefixes: -re and -in , which in this case serve to indicate the intensification of the concept which derives from the Latin term bombus , translatable as a powerful and dull noise or crash , and which gave rise to the Spanish words bomb and bombo .
Up to this point it is possible to say that thanks to the prefixes just indicated, the notion of noise is intensified, and that is why the term bombastic refers to something ostentatious, which resonates with great power. The word bombus , for its part, was taken from the Greek bombos , which also meant intense thud and loud hum, and which probably had an onomatopoeic origin.
It is common for politicians to make bombastic announcements.
The pompous
The idea of bombastic is associated with something that attracts attention or is pompous . A speech is bombastic when it uses grandiose expressions or includes transcendental announcements.
A bombastic speech by the president of a country could be the following: “Today, with the implementation of this economic plan, we begin a new era of progress that will know no limits and that will banish poverty from our country forever.” As you can see, a message of this type sounds exaggerated due to its improbable claims.
The term bombastic in art
In the context of art , a style is classified as bombastic when it shows excessive ornamentation . In this case, the bombastic is opposite to the minimalist.
A painting that measures three meters long by two meters high and that displays the figures of eighty people painted with a great variety of colors, could be described as bombastic, an adjective that could never be applied to a painting measuring 30 x 30 centimeters. which is limited to showing a monochromatic geometric figure.
Its social consideration
It is important to note that bombast is not, in itself, either good or bad : the term, in any case, is usually used in a somewhat derogatory sense. This occurs due to the tendency of most social systems to discard or disqualify any behavior or line of thought that does not conform to the proposed norms.
A bombastic attitude is often perceived as unreliable , since excess "noise" in a person's speech may have the objective of hiding their true intentions or shortcomings . For example, if a politician expresses himself in this way to his followers throughout his electoral campaign, many will think that he seeks to distract the public with striking words and tempting promises so that they do not focus on the main points, to prevent them from making the questions he is not ready to answer.
In the field of popular art, many stars create their public images around a series of myths and adorn them with bombastic aspects and phrases, generally to compensate for the lack of natural talent or technical preparation; This does not usually happen in academic art, since it is based on years and decades of study and dedication. A popular singer who can barely reproduce one of her own songs live may resort to flashy clothing and speech, while a virtuoso violinist who has been studying her instrument since childhood may appear in public looking unkempt. .