blustered; blustering
ˈblə-st(ə-)riŋ 
1
: to talk or act with noisy swaggering threats
brags and blusters but rarely does what he says he'll do
2
a
: to blow in stormy noisy gusts
a cold, blustering wind
b
: to be windy and boisterous
… when autumn blusters and the orchard rocks.—
Robert Browning
Robert Browning1
: to utter with noisy self-assertiveness
"I don't want to hear it!" he blustered.
2
: to drive or force by blustering
… trying to bluster us into the belief that they are much better than they look.—F. A. Swinnerton
F. A. Swinnerton1
: a violent boisterous blowing
… the strong breeze driving them was setting up a bluster on the water.—Rose Thurburn
Rose Thurburn2
: violent commotion
They do their work without bluster or ostentation.—Stanley Walker
Stanley Walker3
: loudly boastful or threatening speech
growing tired of his macho bluster
Examples of bluster in a Sentence
Verb
He brags and blusters, but he never really does what he says he'll do.
“I don't want to hear it!” he blustered.
The wind blustered through the valley.
Noun
We were all tired of his macho bluster.
all the bluster in the campaign speech was intended to hide a lack of specifics
Recent Examples on the Web
Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2025
There’s even direct homage to the former, with a chase scene set inside a noisy blustering nightclub.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 18 Jan. 2025
Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2025
But then there are those moments when Josephine’s bluster falters, revealing the raw and heartbreaking vulnerability still pulsing underneath.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for bluster
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Verb
Lavar Ball, the patriarch of the family, is a blustering boxing promoter of a personality, and brothers LaMelo and Lonzo Ball are successful NBA players who will be in the public consciousness for the foreseeable future.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 14 Jan. 2025
There’s even direct homage to the former, with a chase scene set inside a noisy blustering nightclub.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 18 Jan. 2025
Noun
And yet late Sunday, after hours of online bluster, Petro backed down, the prospect of a trade war with the U.S. proving too frightening to contemplate.
—Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2025
But then there are those moments when Josephine’s bluster falters, revealing the raw and heartbreaking vulnerability still pulsing underneath.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for bluster
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Cite this Entry
“Bluster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bluster. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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