Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Characterized by greatness of scope or intent; grand. See Synonyms at grand.
- adj. Characterized by feigned or affected grandeur; pompous.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Impressive from inherent grandeur; grand in effect; magnificent; imposing.
- Characterized by self-display or bombast; vulgarly showy or flaunting; grandiloquent; swollen; turgid: as, a grandiose style.
Wiktionary
- adj. large and impressive, in size, scope or extent
- adj. pompous or pretentious
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Impressive or elevating in effect; imposing; splendid; striking; -- in a good sense.
- adj. Characterized by affectation of grandeur or splendor; flaunting; turgid; bombastic; -- in a bad sense.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. affectedly genteel
- adj. impressive because of unnecessary largeness or grandeur; used to show disapproval
Etymologies
- French, from Italian grandioso, from grande, great, from Latin grandis.
Examples
“But Wednesday's speech - which Gingrich himself called "grandiose" - could actually resonate politically in Florida, where space exploration is good politics 14 miles away from Cape Canaveral.”
“Desert landscapes with unspeakable monsters hiding in grandiose mysterious structures, a dread and a trembling for an amateur adventurer and a professional curiosity for Sean Connery-like types.”
H. P. Lovecraft "At the Mountains of Madness" and other masterpieces of terror
“The main grandiose building covered with ceramic scenes glorifying Soviet achievements is closed.”
“The NBA opened its doors Sunday in grandiose Cowboys Stadium, and, in typical Texas style, put its greatest stars on the biggest stage ever to witness a basketball game.”
“ARLINGTON, Texas The NBA opened its doors Sunday in grandiose Cowboys Stadium, and, in typical Texas style, put its greatest stars on the biggest stage ever to witness a basketball game. —”
“In the presidential primaries, he showed little interest in grandiose promises.”
“Kane, who tended to describe his creations (and those of his colleagues when he claimed them for himself) in grandiose terms, stated in his memoir Batman and Me: Robin evolved from my fantasies as a kid of fourteen, when I visualized myself as a young boy fighting alongside my idol, Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.”
“Hoffman considered the moniker grandiose and misleading.”
“He was referring to his grandiose future plans, and his tone was one of absolute, calm certainty.”
“So, in grandiose terms I suppose, these are the issues that I’m pondering as 2008 approaches and as I ready myself for the challenges and battles that lie ahead.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘grandiose’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Anxiety
apprehension =wor..., regularity, dread, brood, palpitation, gradual, troublesome, virtually, irrational=unreas..., phobia=irrational..., phobic=fearful= adj, affiliated=united and 54 more...
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I am : grand
grand, majestic, splendid, splendorous, magnificent, august, austere, spectacular, wondrous, awesome, redoubtable, formidable and 30 more...
writer723 grandiose & grandiosity: characterized by greatness of scope or intent. Impressive or elevating in effect; imposing; splendid; striking; -- in a good sense. at times i suffer from grandiosity. inflated sense of self. it does not mean what i am feeling and the expressions of myrself are not real or true or on the negative side of grandiose. May 5, 2012
sera to be grandiose is to display an exaggerated manner Aug 13, 2007