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pompous

American  
[pom-puhs] / ˈpɒm pəs /

adjective

  1. characterized by an ostentatious display of dignity or importance.

    a pompous minor official.
    Synonyms:
    pretentious

  2. ostentatiously lofty or high-flown.

    a pompous speech.
    Synonyms:
    bombastic, turgid, inflated

  3. Archaic. characterized by pomp, or a display of stately splendor or magnificence.

    an impressive and pompous funeral.
pompous British  
/ ˈpɒmpəs /

adjective

  1. exaggeratedly or ostentatiously dignified or self-important

  2. ostentatiously lofty in style

    a pompous speech

  3. rare characterized by ceremonial pomp or splendour

"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

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

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.