SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
grandiose
adjective
Impressively large in appearance or excessively ambitious and pretentious.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Excessively grand
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topGrandiose often criticizes plans or appearances as excessive; grand can express straightforward admiration.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See grandiose in use
The grandiose proposal promised far more than the small budget could support.
The house was impressive, although there were a few grandiose touches: a fireplace the size of a garage and a kitchen with five ovens.
1 more example
One volunteer proposed a grandiose opening with three stages, elaborate scenery, and a procession through every campus building.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license