grandiosity

/ˌgrændiˈɑsɪti/

Other forms: grandiosities

Grandiosity is a characteristic of being so ambitious or extravagant that you seem pretentious. The grandiosity of that new house down the street, with all of its turrets and columns, is a little ridiculous.

Someone's grandiosity might come across in the way they brag about their amazing achievements, blowing them up to be even bigger — or more grand — than they actually are. Or you might betray your grandiosity by making outlandish plans that don't seem quite realistic: "Later, I realized the grandiosity of my idea to start a cookie business that would make a million dollars in the first six months." The Latin root is grandis, "big."

Definitions of grandiosity

1. noun

   high-flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation
   “the grandiosity of his prose”

   synonyms: grandiloquence, magniloquence, ornateness, rhetoric

   types:

   flourish

   a display of ornamental speech or language

   blah, bombast, claptrap, fustian, rant

   pompous or pretentious talk or writing

   type of:

   expressive style, style

   a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period