demagogue

Johnny Depp is a demagogue for me—he's not only gorgeous, but also smart and witty.

Demagogues try to stir up people's passions with incendiary* speeches.

Personally, I prefer the demagoguery of Chris Rock over tamer comedy acts.

bombastic

The speaker clearly went for bombast, never using a short word when he could use a long one and never using one word when he could use two or more.

When asked if he would accept the assignment without extra pay, he answered bombastically "yes."

One could hear the bombast of the explosion in places miles away.

rant

I read in the Sunday paper a pleasant and amusing rant by someone who had enjoyed Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

We jokingly call our youngest sister the "rant of the litter" because she loves to launch into tirades at the slightest provocation.

At the beginning of service, the congregation was asked to spend a minute in ranting silence.

harangue

Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the 32^th president, was a heroine to some and a harangue to others.

I no longer visit Herb because I cannot sit through another harangue against his ex-wife.

He not only thanked me profusely, but also delivered a harangue of good wishes.

garrulous

Cell phones are a gift of heaven for the garrulous, but not for those who have to listen to their users talking endlessly about nothing.

Gina's garrulousness has now reached a point where she barely utters a word when you try to talk to her.

Chico is able to imitate the garrulous sounds of chicken so well—he could fool a real chicken.

laconic

True, I don't like idle chatter, but Leo is too laconic even for me.

Laconic Lara starts to blubber even at the smallest mishap, for example, when anyone says a harsh word.

It's laconic that Luis, who loves his children, had to see them all move away.

colloquial

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" is a colloquialism that goes back to a song written by Kris Kristofferson.

With each glass of wine, he became more colloquial until in the end, no one could understand him any more.

"Ain't" is fine in colloquial speech, but it has no place in a State of the Union address.

pontificate

After Peggy's pontification, she seemed more self-assured and able to handle unpleasant experiences.

Getting kicked off the team for mouthing off in the presence of the coach is the latest pontification in Pete's life.

I do not like commentators who pontificate about issues they do not understand.

platitude

It's frustrating to have Nick in a conversation because all he ever comes up with are platitudes like "There's always a first time" or "Isn't that something?"

Sarah is in trouble again because of her platitude problem.

The singer became a super-star when her third album went platitude.

parlance

In common parlance, "motor vehicles" are called "cars."

The author's opening parlance spelled out his intentions.

In games of parlance, contestants compete in physical tasks like climbing a pole or splitting a tree trunk.