High-sounding but meaningless language; pompous or inflated speech or writing that lacks substance. It refers to verbose rhetoric designed to impress rather than inform.
Originally from Greek 'bombyx' (silk), through Latin 'bombax' (cotton padding). The term evolved from literal padding material to metaphorical 'padding' in speech - words that fill space without adding meaning.
Bombast is like verbal cotton padding - it makes speech seem bigger and more impressive, but when you squeeze it, there's nothing solid inside. Politicians are often accused of using bombast when they speak grandly but say nothing meaningful.
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