Victorian & Edwardian · word · verb
bloviate
BLOH-vee-ayt /ˈbloʊ.viˌeɪt/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1845
To talk at length in a pompous, boastful, empty way. A Midwestern American word of the 1840s–50s built on 'blow' on the model of 'deviate'; it faded, then revived in the 1920s around President Warren G. Harding's ornate speeches and again in the 2000s, now mostly of politicians and pundits.
Where it was first recorded
Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio), 14 October 1845 — earliest citation per Wiktionary (citing the OED and Ben Zimmer); Merriam-Webster also gives 1845.
Related: bloviation (noun), bloviator (noun)
In its own time
His passion when bloviating was furious and terrible to look upon; but there was nothing to it more than sound and pretense.
Today
Modern exampleHe bloviated for twenty minutes about leadership without once answering the question.
Fine to use today; it is a lively, current word for windy, self-important talk, especially in politics and media.
Questions
What does bloviate mean?
To talk at length in a pompous, boastful, empty way. A Midwestern American word of the 1840s–50s built on 'blow' on the model of 'deviate'; it faded, then revived in the 1920s around President Warren G. Harding's ornate speeches and again in the 2000s, now mostly of politicians and pundits.
When was bloviate first used?
It is first recorded 1845 — Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio), 14 October 1845 — earliest citation per Wiktionary (citing the OED and Ben Zimmer); Merriam-Webster also gives 1845.
Can you still use bloviate today?
Fine to use today; it is a lively, current word for windy, self-important talk, especially in politics and media.
Sources
- bloviate — Online Etymology Dictionary
- Slang and its Analogues, vol. I (1890), s.v. BLOVIATE — J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley (archive.org)
- bloviate — Wiktionary
- bloviate — Merriam-Webster
- bloviate, v. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
- The Vigilance Committee of 1856 (James O'Meara) — Project Gutenberg #4642
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above