pomp

[pomp]

noun

1. stately or splendid display; splendor; magnificence.

2. ostentatious or vain display, especially of dignity or importance.

3. pomps, pompous displays, actions, or things.

   The official was accompanied by all the pomps of his high position.

4. Archaic.,  a stately or splendid procession; pageant.

pomp

/ pɒmp /

noun

1. stately or magnificent display; ceremonial splendour

2. vain display, esp of dignity or importance

3. obsolete,  a procession or pageant

Other Word Forms

• pompless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pomp¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Latin pompa display, parade, procession < Greek pompḗ originally, a sending, akin to pémpein to send

Word History and Origins

Origin of pomp¹

C14: from Old French pompe, from Latin pompa procession, from Greek pompē; related to Greek pompein to send

Example Sentences

A danger is when teams hit their absolute pomp in the middle of a World Cup cycle.

Read more on BBC

The world is not cutting emissions fast enough to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and no amount of pomp and pageantry at COP30 will be able to sugarcoat that uncomfortable reality.

Read more on Barron's

Missing were all the pomp and the pageantry.

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Ken Belson’s “Every Day Is Sunday” documents how the NFL became an “immensely profitable American religion, complete with acolytes, pomp, and tax breaks.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

For a man who always liked the trappings of royalty, the pomp and the ceremony, the loss of his titles is deeply humiliating.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• fanfare 
• formality 
• grandeur 
• solemnity 
• splendor 

When To Use

What are other ways to say pomp?

Pomp refers to stately or splendid display, or to display that is ostentatious or vain. When should you use pomp over show, display, or ostentation? Find out on Thesaurus.com.