pontificate

[noun pon-tif-i-kit, -keyt; verb pon-tif-i-keyt]

See more synonyms for pontificate on Thesaurus.com

noun

the office or term of office of a pontiff.

verb (used without object), pon·tif·i·cat·ed, pon·tif·i·cat·ing.

to perform the office or duties of a pontiff.
to speak in a pompous or dogmatic manner: Did he pontificate about the responsibilities of a good citizen?
to serve as a bishop, especially in a Pontifical Mass.

Origin of pontificate

1575–85; (noun) < Latin pontificātus; see pontifical, -ate³; (v.) < Medieval Latin pontificātus past participle of pontificāre to be an ecclesiastic; see -ate¹

Related formspon·tif·i·ca·tion, nounpon·tif·i·ca·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pontificate

admonish, moralize, minister, address, evangelize, lecture, teach, harangue, preach, dogmatize, pulpiteer

Examples from the Web for pontificate

Contemporary Examples of pontificate

Benedict may well want to cut short the time available for the cardinals to politick, posture, and pontificate, as it were.
With Pope Benedict XVI’s Retirement, Conclave Rules Prove Unclear
Christopher Dickey
February 12, 2013

Historical Examples of pontificate

But it was not so with that pontificate on which the Church was built.
The Formation of Christendom, Volume VI
Thomas W. (Thomas William) Allies
He died in 604, after a pontificate of thirteen years and six months.
Italy, the Magic Land
Lilian Whiting
The Cardinal was an early riser, and was to pontificate at high mass in the Lateran.
Stradella
F(rancis) Marion Crawford
Given at Lyons, on the 3rd of July, in the fifth year of our Pontificate.
Diaries of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore, Volume I
Sir Moses Montefiore
He died on the 27th day of his pontificate, and was succeeded by Paul V.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 4
Various

British Dictionary definitions for pontificate

pontificate

verb (pɒnˈtɪfɪˌkeɪt) (intr)

to speak or behave in a pompous or dogmatic mannerAlso (less commonly): pontify (ˈpɒntɪˌfaɪ)
to serve or officiate as a pontiff, esp in celebrating a Pontifical Mass

noun (pɒnˈtɪfɪkɪt)

the office or term of office of a pontiff, now usually the pope

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 pontificate

1818, "to act as a pontiff," from Medieval Latin pontificatus, past participle of pontificare "to be a pontifex," from Latin pontifex (see pontiff). Meaning "to assume pompous and dignified airs, issue dogmatic decrees" is from 1825. Meaning "to say (something) in a pontifical way" is from 1922. Related: Pontificated; pontificating.

1580s, from Latin pontificatus "office of a pontiff," from pontifex (see pontifex).