pompous

[ pom-puhs ]

/ ˈpɒm pəs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pompous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

characterized by an ostentatious display of dignity or importance: a pompous minor official.

ostentatiously lofty or high-flown: a pompous speech.

Archaic. characterized by pomp, or a display of stately splendor or magnificence: an impressive and pompous funeral.

Nearby words

pompilid, pompom, pompom girl, pompon, pomposity, pompous, pompton lakes, ponape, ponca, ponca city, ponce

Origin of pompous

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English word from Late Latin word pompōsus. See pomp, -ous

SYNONYMS FOR pompous

1 pretentious.

2 inflated, turgid, bombastic.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pompous ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

pomp·ous·ly, adverbun·pomp·ous, adjectiveun·pomp·ous·ly, adverbun·pomp·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pompous

This year, the show has even resurrected Eliot Ness, seen making a pompous speech to reporters about bringing Capone to justice.
'Boardwalk Empire' Left New Jersey and Lost Its Way|Allen Barra|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Is it pompous to wonder why, as a working journalist, Wikipedia affords the other guy that title?
The Dangers of Trusting Wikipedia With Your Life|Michael Moynihan|April 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But he still has the cojones to speak his mind: Thomas Freidman is a ‘pompous ass.’
Ed Koch at 88: New York’s Still-Outspoken Ex-Mayor Holds No Grudges|Lloyd Grove|January 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Man is a Noble Animal,” Browne wrote, “splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave.
Halloween Read: Thomas Browne’s Eerie Premonition of His Burial|Stefan Beck|October 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST

It started last Friday when Wolff described Alter in his online Newser column as “the most pompous man in American journalism.”
The Greatest Literary Feuds|The Daily Beast|September 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
One can almost hear a eulogist winding himself up to strike his eulogy that comes out sententious, pompous, and full of self.
The Journal of a Disappointed Man|Wilhelm Nero Pilate Barbellion
The pompous official drew near, and looked over his shoulder at the card.
Five Little Peppers at School|Margaret Sidney
He has no sentiment beyond a dudish and pompous admiration for himself, and he covets every hen he sees.
The Wild Turkey and Its Hunting|Edward A. McIlhenny
He is a pompous sham, who wants taking down, said the gilded youth.
Darkness and Dawn|Frederic W. Farrar
He took up Ward's pompous remarks and made jokes of them, so that that young divine chafed and almost choked over his great meals.
The Virginians|William Makepeace Thackeray

British Dictionary definitions for pompous

pompous

/ (ˈpɒmpəs) /

adjective

exaggeratedly or ostentatiously dignified or self-important

ostentatiously lofty in stylea pompous speech

rare characterized by ceremonial pomp or splendour

Derived Forms

pompously, adverbpompousness, noun

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