Bombastic means using grand words with little behind them. A bombastic speech, bombastic claims, bombastic and empty.
The emptiness is the accusation, and the word's origin makes the point: bombast was cotton wadding used to pad out clothing, so bombastic language is stuffing. It has nothing to do with bombs, despite the sound.
1adjectivebombasticUsing grand words with little behind them.
“The politician gave a bombastic speech full of big promises and very few facts.”
bombastic is a quality.
From bombast, cotton wadding used as padding, from Old French bombace.
From bombast + -ic, 18th century. Sense evolution possibly influenced by unrelated bomb and bombard; see also bombard phrase.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA