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pomposity

[pom-pos-i-tee]
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noun, plural pom·pos·i·ties for 3.
  1. the quality of being pompous.
  2. pompous parading of dignity or importance.
  3. an instance of being pompous, as by ostentatious loftiness of language, manner, or behavior.
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Also pomp·ous·ness [pom-puh s-nis] /ˈpɒm pəs nɪs/ (for defs 1, 2).

Origin of pomposity

1400–50; late Middle English pomposite < Late Latin pompōsitās. See pompous, -ity
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

pretensionpresumptionconceitarroganceoverconfidenceairsostentationbalderdashbombastnonsense

Examples from the Web for pomposity

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • What we ought to be afraid of is not seriousness and earnestness, but of solemnity and pomposity.

    Joyous Gard

    Arthur Christopher Benson

  • "I should have expressed my displeasure if I had felt it," said his father with all the pomposity that was natural to him.

    Michael

    E. F. Benson

  • But Mrs. Sullivan's pomposity was not to be discomposed by any sudden attack.

    Manners, Vol 1 of 3

    Frances Brooke

  • If he spoke with pomposity she answered with disdain, and if he was dictatorial she was arrogant.

    The Mark of Cain

    Carolyn Wells

  • You must admit that your past thoughts as to your own pomposity will shrink just a bit!

    Gadsby

    Ernest Vincent Wright

British Dictionary definitions for pomposity

pomposity

noun plural -ties
  1. vain or ostentatious display of dignity or importance
  2. the quality of being pompous
  3. ostentatiously lofty style, language, etc
  4. a pompous action, remark, etc
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pomposity

n.

early 15c., "pomp, solemnity," from Medieval Latin pompositas, from Late Latin pomposus "stately, pompous" (see pompous). The sense of "ostentatious display" is from 1610s; earlier in French pomposité.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper