- Today's Word
Grandiloquence
gran-DIL-uh-kwuhns
Definition
- (noun) Lofty, extravagant, or pompous speech or expression, often intended to impress or appear sophisticated.
Example
His grandiloquence during the presentation seemed more focused on showcasing his vocabulary than addressing the actual topic at hand.
Fun Fact
“Grandiloquence” comes from the Latin roots grandis (meaning “grand”) and loqui (meaning “to speak”). The term emerged in the 16th century, initially as a neutral description of elevated rhetoric. Over time, it took on a more critical tone, often used to mock those who overuse elaborate language to seem important or intellectual. The word serves as a linguistic reminder that clarity and substance often outweigh verbal ornamentation.
(adjective) Lacking substance, interest, or mature thought; naive and simplistic in a way that reveals inexperience.
The critic dismissed the debut novel as jejune — competently written, technically adequate, and utterly devoid of anything worth remembering.
Jejune derives from the Latin jejunus, meaning “fasting” or “empty” — literally describing a stomach that has not been fed. The same root gives us jejunum, the section of the small intestine named for its tendency to be found empty after death. It entered English in the 17th century carrying its literal sense of emptiness before acquiring its figurative meaning of something intellectually or creatively hollow — content that has the form of nourishment without any of the substance.