Bombastic:
* Meaning: Characterized by a pompous, inflated, or overblown style. It's often used to describe language that is intended to impress but is ultimately hollow or insincere.
* Focus: The use of excessive, grand language and rhetoric.
* Example: "The politician's speech was bombastic, filled with empty promises and exaggerated claims."
Pedantic:
* Meaning: Characterized by a narrow, overly formal, or ostentatious display of knowledge or learning. It's often used to describe someone who excessively emphasizes trivial details or uses unnecessarily complex language.
* Focus: The overemphasis on rules, details, and technicalities.
* Example: "The professor's lecture was so pedantic that it lost the students' attention with its endless digressions into irrelevant historical facts."
Key Differences:
* Focus: Bombastic language is about grandiosity and exaggerated expression, while pedantic language is about showing off knowledge in a boring or ostentatious way.
* Intent: Bombastic language is often used to impress, while pedantic language is often used to display intellectual superiority.
* Tone: Bombastic language is often theatrical and flamboyant, while pedantic language is often dry and overly formal.
Think of it this way:
* A bombastic speaker is trying to blow you away with their words, even if they don't have much substance.
* A pedantic speaker is showing off their knowledge, even if it's not relevant or interesting to the listener.
In short:
* Bombastic: Empty rhetoric, trying to impress.
* Pedantic: Overly technical, showing off knowledge.