bluster

1 of 2

verb

blus·​ter ˈblə-stər 

blustered; blustering ˈblə-st(ə-)riŋ 

intransitive verb

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

transitive verb

1

: 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

blusterer

ˈblə-stər-ər 

noun

bluster

2 of 2

noun

1

: a violent boisterous blowing

… the strong breeze driving them was setting up a bluster on the water.

—Rose Thurburn

2

: violent commotion

They do their work without bluster or ostentation.

—Stanley Walker

3

: loudly boastful or threatening speech

growing tired of his macho bluster

blusterous

ˈblə-st(ə-)rəs 

adjective

blustery

ˈblə-st(ə-)rē 

adjective

Synonyms

Verb

• fulminate
• huff
• rant
• rave
• spout

Noun

• bombast
• brag
• braggadocio
• bull [slang]
• cockalorum
• fanfaronade
• gas
• gasconade
• grandiloquence
• hot air
• magniloquence
• rant
• rodomontade
• rhodomontade

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

Verb

Kenny, like the blustering patriarch of another aristocratic family with intelligent daughters, the Mitfords, was firmly of the opinion that formal education rendered young women unmarriageable. —Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024

His strategy was not to answer the questions, but to deflect the questions and spin his own agenda supported by his talent for blustering and bullying. —Dean Minnich, Baltimore Sun, 13 July 2024

Noun

Sophia Cai Nov 4, 2024 - Politics & Policy Internal email: Trump campaign prepares for either outcome Behind the bluster, former President Trump's campaign is preparing staff members to wind down the operation while privately acknowledging that Trump could lose Tuesday's election. —Zachary Basu, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024

At 79, Jon Peters no longer is the bad-boy seducer of women from Barbra Streisand to Pamela Anderson, the inspiration for the Warren Beatty film Shampoo, the wild-man character that Bradley Cooper portrayed with all the old bluster in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2021 film Licorice Pizza. —Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English blustren, probably from Middle Low German blüsteren

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bluster

1 of 2 verb

blus·​ter ˈbləs-tər 

blustered; blustering -t(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to blow violently and noisily

2

: to talk or act in a noisy boastful way

blusterer

-tər-ər 

noun

bluster

2 of 2 noun

1

: a violent noise or commotion

2

: loudly boastful or threatening speech

blustery

-t(ə-)rē 

adjective