pompous

adjective

pomp·​ous ˈpäm-pəs 

1

: excessively elevated or ornate

pompous rhetoric

2

: having or exhibiting self-importance : arrogant

a pompous politician

3

: relating to or suggestive of pomp or splendor : magnificent

pompously adverb

pompousness noun

Synonyms

• arrogant
• assumptive
• bumptious
• cavalier
• chesty
• haughty
• high-and-mighty
• high-handed
• high-hat
• highfalutin
• hifalutin
• huffish
• huffy
• imperious
• important
• lofty
• lordly
• masterful
• overweening
• peremptory
• presuming
• presumptuous
• pretentious
• self-asserting
• self-assertive
• sniffy
• stiff-necked
• supercilious
• superior
• toplofty
• toploftical
• uppish
• uppity

Examples of pompous in a Sentence

So as the pictures of flooded shanties flicker by on cable news, uptight neatnik Midwestern Lutherans and sensitive northeastern urban sophisticates and pompous media grandees on both coasts express shock at the unexpected squalor of the poverty and bafflement over the slovenly corruption of the civic institutions. —Rob Long, National Review, 26 Sept. 2005

President Warren Harding was an orator, but his bloviations were an army of pompous phrases moving across the landscape in search of an idea. —Harold Evans, New York Times Book Review, 11 Nov. 2001

She never allowed her spirit to become, as, say, Henry Adams did, curdled by long exposure to Washington's tawdry and pompous aspects. —George F. Will, Newsweek, 24 May 1999

She found it difficult to talk about her achievements without sounding pompous.

the pompous waiter served us in the manner of a person doing some poor soul a great favor

Recent Examples on the Web

Bonneville, as the ineffectually pompous Mr. Brown, always gives the impression of having a whale of a time. —Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2024

Film festivals can often be pompous affairs, full of endless gatekeeping, infinite gradations of status, and extremely specific dress codes. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2024

Salt Lake capitulates In what can only be described as another example of the pompous and megalomaniac nature of the International Olympic Committee, the IOC forced Salt Lake City to turn against its own country in order to secure the bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics. —John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024

Though well intentioned, Damian is pompous, consoling Martha while lecturing her on how humankind’s inability to curb its carbon footprint has made global warming unstoppable — and ecological catastrophe unavoidable. —Brent Lang, Variety, 23 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see pomp

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pompous

adjective

pomp·​ous ˈpäm-pəs 

1

: making a show of importance or dignity

a pompous manner

2

: having an overly high opinion of one's importance

a pompous politician

pompously adverb

pompousness noun