Some people speak to inform.
有些人说话，是为了传递信息。
Some speak to inspire.
有些人说话，是为了激励别人。
And then there are people who speak just to sound important — the voice rises, the sentences stretch, but the meaning quietly fades.
而还有些人——说话只是为了听起来重要——声音变高、句子拉长，但意义悄然变淡。
That’s where today’s word steps in with a quiet grin: bloviate.
这时，今天的主角带着微妙的笑意登场：bloviate。
To bloviate is to speak in a long-winded, showy, self-inflated way, where the sound gets bigger but the substance gets smaller.
Bloviate 的意思，是用冗长、浮夸、自我膨胀的方式说话——声音越大，内容越少。
It’s like watching someone blow up a balloon made of words — huge, shiny, dramatic… and mostly air.
就像看着某人把一句话吹成一只巨大的词语气球——巨大、闪亮、戏剧化……却几乎全是空气。
You see it everywhere.
你在生活中随处可见它。
A five-minute meeting becomes an unwanted TED Talk.
五分钟的会议被某人强行讲成一场 TED 演讲。
A politician fills the room with grand promises but not a single detail.
政客用宏大的承诺塞满空气，却一句细节都不给。
A colleague gives a speech when all you asked for was an update.
同事明明只需给个进度，却偏要发表一段演讲。
That’s bloviating — performance instead of substance.
这就是 bloviate——表演大于内容。
History even has a famous example.
历史上甚至有一个著名例子。
President Warren G. Harding was known for beautiful sentences that said almost nothing.
总统沃伦·G·哈定的演讲句式优美，却几乎毫无内容。
One writer joked his speeches were like “frosting an invisible cake.”
一位作家打趣说，他的演讲就像“给一块看不见的蛋糕抹奶油”。
Elegant, elaborate… and empty.
优雅、繁复……却空无一物。
In daily life, we use bloviate when someone talks too much, too grandly, and too vaguely.
在日常生活中，bloviate 用在描述某人说得太多、太夸张、太空洞时。
Examples:
例子：
“He wasn’t presenting — he was bloviating.”
“他那不是在汇报——他是在 bloviate。”
“Stop bloviating and get to the point.”
“别再 bloviate 了，讲重点。”
“The debate was just two people bloviating at each other.”
“那场辩论就是两个人互相 bloviate。”
How is it different from similar words?
那它和类似单词有什么本质区别？
Rant is angry.
Rant 是愤怒地讲。
Ramble is aimless.
Ramble 是漫无目的地讲。
Lecture sounds superior or bossy.
Lecture 带有居高临下的意味。
But bloviate?
但 bloviate 呢？
It’s ego dressed as eloquence — loud, confident, and almost all air.
它是“把自我包装成雄辩”——声音大、自信足，但几乎全是空气。
So next time someone speaks with flourish, volume, and impressive emptiness…
所以下次当某人说得气势磅礴、声势浩大、内容却空如薄雾时……
smile.
笑一笑。
You’re witnessing the graceful art of bloviation in full bloom.
你正在见证 bloviate 的艺术盛放。