What does flatulent mean?
Flatulent is an adjective with two related but distinct uses. In its primary, literal sense it describes a person or condition marked by an accumulation of gas in the stomach or intestines — a common medical complaint after certain foods. By extension, it has long been applied figuratively to speech or writing that is pompous, verbose, and full of hot air: a critic might dismiss a flatulent novel as overblown and self-important. The word derives from Latin flatus, meaning a blowing or breath, which also gives English inflate and conflate. Its tone ranges from clinical when describing digestion to sharply derisive when describing prose, so writers should choose it deliberately. Though slightly formal, it remains a vivid and useful term for both physical discomfort and verbal excess.
adjectiveSuffering from or characterized by an excessive accumulation of gas in the stomach or intestines; more broadly, given to pompous, empty, or pretentious talk or writing.
- Affected by or generating gas in the digestive tract (medical/physical sense).
- Characterized by excessive, pretentious, or empty language (figurative sense).
"The doctor asked whether his flatulent symptoms worsened after meals."
"After the rich meal he felt distinctly flatulent."
"The senator's speech was dismissed as flatulent rhetoric."
"Flatulent" comes straight from Latin flatus — the same root behind "inflate" and "conflate" — meaning a blowing or breathing, which is why it can describe both a gassy stomach and windy prose.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of flatulent
Flatulent derives from Latin flatus, meaning 'a blowing' or 'breath', the past participle stem of flare ('to blow'), which is also the root of English words such as inflate and conflate. The adjective entered English in the early seventeenth century, initially in its literal sense relating to bodily gas. Its figurative application to inflated, pretentious speech developed later from the same image of windiness.
Related word forms
How flatulent is actually used
The physical sense is clinical or mildly humorous in register; the figurative sense is literary criticism territory and carries clear contempt. Both senses are somewhat formal-sounding compared with blunter alternatives.
Easily confused with flatulent
Eructation is the act of belching, while flatulent describes the condition of having excess intestinal gas.