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
Etymology
Origin of pompous
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English word from Late Latin word pompōsus. See pomp, -ous
Explanation
A pompous person is arrogant or conceited. He'll walk into a party with an inflated ego, ready to tell anyone who will listen that "I'm kind of a big deal." Today we associate the adjective pompous with self-important jerks. But it's actually derived from the Old French pompeux, which meant “stately." And that's why you can also use pompous to describe something with a lot of ceremonial or stately display — in other words, something surrounded by "pomp and circumstance."
Vocabulary lists containing pompous
Flowers for Algernon
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Face It: Selfie Vocab
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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.
Pompous and self-important, it sounded as if the newspaper was really trying to say Without the Washington Post, we’re all screwed.
From Slate • Mar. 1, 2025
Pompous, handshaking, smiling Richard William Reading was mayor.
From Time Magazine Archive
Pompous officials deliver pronunciamentos even when there is no one left to listen.
From Time Magazine Archive
Pompous street criers strode last week through the narrow, vile and crowded thoroughfares of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan.
From Time Magazine Archive
My real name is Pompey; but Mr. John sometimes calls me Pompous.
From The Nursery, No. 109, January, 1876, Vol. XIX. A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers by Various
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.
