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pontification

American  
[pon-tif-i-key-shuhn] / pɒnˌtɪf ɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. pompous or dogmatic speech.

    I could emphasize research, or I could engage in pure pontification with no sources whatsoever.

Etymology

Origin of pontification

pontificat(e) ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

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.

Fred Hiatt’s columns were must-reads for me: clear, analytical, fact-driven and free of pontification and hyperbolic language.

From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2021

"Let me correct your pontification of why I called the president," Johnson told host Jake Tapper.

From Fox News • Nov. 10, 2019

Often, he’ll begin in the key of pontification, then slide into friendliness.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 4, 2019

As per usual, these articles aren’t much fun if you dislike autocratic pontification or anything that might be interpreted as overt self-congratulation.

From Scientific American • May 28, 2018

Mr. Sharpe had not ceased in his pontification, though weaving unsteadily now in his deportment.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

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.