Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To speak or write in an angry or emotionally charged manner; rave.
  • intransitive verb To express at length a complaint or negative opinion.
  • intransitive verb To utter or express by ranting.
  • noun Angry, emotionally charged, or tediously negative speech or writing.
  • noun An example of such speech or writing.
  • noun Chiefly British Wild or uproarious merriment.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To speak or declaim violently and with little sense; rave: used of both the matter and the manner of utterance, or of either alone: as, a ranting preacher or actor.
  • To be jovial or jolly in a noisy way; make noisy mirth.
  • noun Boisterous, empty declamation; fierce or high-sounding language without much meaning or dignity of thought; bombast.
  • noun A ranting speech; a bombastic or boisterous utterance.
  • noun The act of frolicking; a frolic; a boisterous merrymaking, generally accompanied with dancing.
  • noun A kind of dance, or the music to which it was danced.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun High-sounding language, without importance or dignity of thought; boisterous, empty declamation; bombast.
  • intransitive verb To rave in violent, high-sounding, or extravagant language, without dignity of thought; to be noisy, boisterous, and bombastic in talk or declamation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A criticism done by ranting.
  • noun A wild, incoherent, emotional articulation.
  • verb To speak or shout at length in an uncontrollable anger.
  • verb To criticize by ranting.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun pompous or pretentious talk or writing
  • verb talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner
  • noun a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably from obsolete Dutch ranten.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Dutch ranten, randen ("talk nonsense, rave").

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Examples

Comments

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  • How like WeirdNet to define a commonplace monosyllable as a bombastic declamation.

    December 7, 2008

  • See also rant-fuel.

    May 20, 2014