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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More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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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.
He’s hardly able to parry the upbraiding meted out by Mr. Giamatti’s Jean, fastidiously dressed and radiating pompous self-satisfaction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
"BASIL!" - the unmistakable sound of Sybil Fawlty admonishing her pompous and incompetent husband, is probably how Prunella Scales will best be remembered.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
But because she’s telling the worst men what they want to hear, Stuckey has created space for herself to live out the usually male role of being the pompous bully who will brook no dissent.
From Salon ● Dec. 1, 2025
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
Once more he was that self he had long since taught himself to wear in the world’s eye, pompous, spurious, not quite gross.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
