rimbombante

Rimbombante is an adjective used in Spanish and Portuguese (and found in related Romance languages) to describe something ostentatious, pompous, grandiloquent or sonorously emphatic. It can refer both to style—especially language, rhetoric, or presentation that seeks to impress—and to sounds that are loud and resonant.

Etymology and formation: the word derives from verbs meaning "to resound" (for example Spanish rimbombar and Italian rimbombare) and has onomatopoeic roots conveying booming or echoing sound. Morphologically it follows regular adjective patterns (feminine/masculine and plural forms), and related nouns and adverbs are formed from the same root.

Usage and connotation: rimbombante is frequently used in critical contexts to signal excessive showiness or affected magnificence—e.g., a rimbombante speech, headline, or architectural ornamentation. It can be applied neutrally when describing loud, reverberant noises, but it commonly carries a mildly pejorative sense when applied to style or manner.

Synonyms include pomposo, grandilocuente, ostentoso and estruendoso; antonyms include sobrio, discreto and modesto. In translation it is often rendered as bombastic, pompous, flamboyant or ostentatious, depending on context.