pompous

[pom-puhs]

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.

Origin of pompous

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

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

Synonyms for pompous

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pompous ON THESAURUS.COM

1. pretentious. 2. inflated, turgid, bombastic.

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

Related Words for pompous

selfish, overbearing, bombastic, presumptuous, imperious, boastful, pretentious, grandiose, self-important, self-centered, affected, bloated, conceited, flatulent, flowery, fustian, grandiloquent, high-flown, important, inflated

Examples from the Web for pompous

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of pompous

It is amusing to read Tarleton's pompous account of this pursuit.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion
William Dobein James
He had disliked Peppajee as a pompous egotist among his kind.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
It has a pompous Latin name, but it is incurably Gothic and grotesque.
Alarms and Discursions
G. K. Chesterton
Well, pompous Chase; how do you feel for having sided with Seward?
Diary from November 12, 1862, to October 18, 1863
Adam Gurowski
Her delivery was unnatural and pompous; her motions were stiff, strained, ridiculous.
Cleo The Magnificent
Louis Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for pompous

pompous

adjective

exaggeratedly or ostentatiously dignified or self-important

ostentatiously lofty in stylea pompous speech

rare characterized by ceremonial pomp or splendour

Derived Formspompously, 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

Word Origin and History for pompous

adj.

late 14c., "characterized by exaggerated self-importance," from Old French pompos (14c., Modern French pompeux) and directly from Late Latin pomposus "stately, pompous," from Latin pompa "pomp" (see pomp). More literal (but less common) meaning "characterized by pomp" is attested from early 15c. Related: Pompously.