pompous
Americanadjective
-
characterized by an ostentatious display of dignity or importance.
a pompous minor official.
- Synonyms:
- pretentious
-
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.
adjective
-
exaggeratedly or ostentatiously dignified or self-important
-
ostentatiously lofty in style
a pompous speech
-
rare characterized by ceremonial pomp or splendour
Other Word Forms
- pompously adverb
- pompousness noun
- unpompous adjective
- unpompously adverb
- unpompousness noun
Etymology
Origin of pompous
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English word from Late Latin word pompōsus. See pomp, -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Broderick, himself a sometime movie star, brings a slyly funny air of noblesse oblige that dovetails amusingly with Jay’s pompous, blinkered dimness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
His most “persistent hater,” the pompous moralist Cato the Censor, railed at Scipio’s unseemly pride and alleged corruption.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025
Without wanting to sound pompous, "favourite" is a concept I find problematic - I'm a journalist and my job is to be objective.
From BBC • Aug. 19, 2025
Judging by social media, my irrepressible loathing of Leavitt's smug visage and pompous voice makes me typical of my demographic: progressive, college-educated women between the ages of 25 and 65.
From Salon • Jun. 23, 2025
I could deal with them thinking I was a pompous freak if they’d just play their roles like I told them to.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
