bluster
loud and empty talk
TRANSLATION
bluster = Geprahle, Getöse, Schwadronieren bluster (Wind) = Brausen, Rauschen, Toben --- GOOGLE INDEX bluster: approximately 3,400,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
It is now clear that bargaining — not BLUSTER — played the biggest role in resolving the Cold War’s most terrifying standoff (the Cuban missile crisis).
(International Business Times)
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Britain's BLUSTER serves the eurozone well
(Financial Times)
(International Business Times)
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Britain's BLUSTER serves the eurozone well
(Financial Times)
Did you
know?
bluster
noun
— loud, arrogant speech, often full of empty threats
— a violent gusty wind
verb
— to speak in a loudly arrogant or bullying manner
— to brag or make loud, empty threats
— to blow in loud, violent gusts, as the wind during a storm
(American Heritage Dictionary)
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The word "bluster" has been honoured as Dictionary.com's word of the year for 2012. A representative of the website said, "We liked the double meaning of weather and communication."
As there are many words in English that have double or multiple meanings (Dictionary.com lists more than 170 entries for the meaning of "run" for instance), this alone is not reason enough to give bluster such a distinction. The use of the word in several historical contexts is what prompted the award; more specifically the 2012 U.S. presidential election, which provided enough bluster for the next few years, and hurricane Sandy, which blustered across the northeast part of the U.S., causing major damage.
As the Dictionary.com rep put it, "Obviously the most historical events were the election, and weather events. There has been a remarkable volume of different kinds of bluster across the political and cultural spectrum."
The site went on to point out several other words that could refer to both events:
— tempestuous = characterized by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion; stormy
— inclement = harsh, severe, merciless
— intemperate = excessive, severe, extreme (opposite of temperate, meaning modest)
— contumacious = stubbornly resistant to authority, rebellious
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SYNONYMS
noun
bombast, boasting, braggadocio, empty talk, hot air, hauteur, hubris, pomposity, swagger
verb
boast, brag, gasconade, vaunt, tout, gas, swash, blow, puff, exaggerate, hyperbolise, hyperbolize, overstate
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We need less bluster and more constructive discussion in meetings."
noun
— loud, arrogant speech, often full of empty threats
— a violent gusty wind
verb
— to speak in a loudly arrogant or bullying manner
— to brag or make loud, empty threats
— to blow in loud, violent gusts, as the wind during a storm
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
The word "bluster" has been honoured as Dictionary.com's word of the year for 2012. A representative of the website said, "We liked the double meaning of weather and communication."
As there are many words in English that have double or multiple meanings (Dictionary.com lists more than 170 entries for the meaning of "run" for instance), this alone is not reason enough to give bluster such a distinction. The use of the word in several historical contexts is what prompted the award; more specifically the 2012 U.S. presidential election, which provided enough bluster for the next few years, and hurricane Sandy, which blustered across the northeast part of the U.S., causing major damage.
As the Dictionary.com rep put it, "Obviously the most historical events were the election, and weather events. There has been a remarkable volume of different kinds of bluster across the political and cultural spectrum."
The site went on to point out several other words that could refer to both events:
— tempestuous = characterized by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion; stormy
— inclement = harsh, severe, merciless
— intemperate = excessive, severe, extreme (opposite of temperate, meaning modest)
— contumacious = stubbornly resistant to authority, rebellious
---
SYNONYMS
noun
bombast, boasting, braggadocio, empty talk, hot air, hauteur, hubris, pomposity, swagger
verb
boast, brag, gasconade, vaunt, tout, gas, swash, blow, puff, exaggerate, hyperbolise, hyperbolize, overstate
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We need less bluster and more constructive discussion in meetings."
