pompous

1 of 2

adjective

pomp·​ous ˈpäm-pəs 

1

: having or exhibiting self-importance : arrogant

The pastor, a solemn and pompous personage immensely impressed with his own importance …

—Andrew M. Greeley

Here's how to talk about wine without sounding like a pompous jerk …

—Sam Dangremond

… a TV reporter … talking to us in the formal, faintly pompous tone we're used to on TV …

—Pauline Kael

2

: excessively elevated or ornate

pompous rhetoric

pompous figures of speech

3

: relating to or suggestive of pomp or splendor : magnificent

A delicate cascade pours leftward from a massive fragment of broken, once-pompous fountain.

—John Hollander

pompously adverb

a suggestion they pompously dismissed

pompousness noun

pompousness

2 of 2

noun

pomp·​ous·​ness

: the quality or state of being pompous : pomposity

… overflow with all the pompousness of national and individual vanity combined.

—Herman Melville, White-Jacket, 1850

Synonyms of pompous

Adjective

• arrogant

Examples of pompous in a Sentence

Adjective

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

Adjective

Instead, just enjoy the whacking of the pompous, the powerful and parents — that’s what Stone and Parker do. — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026

Symptoms include baby fever, exacerbated by the pregnancy announcement of her sister Macy (Zosia Mamet), and an intolerance to her pompous, long-term but non-committal boyfriend Spencer (Finn Wittrock). — Katie Walsh, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026

If ideas seem too abstruse, Ethan and Joe discuss them at length in rhetoric indistinguishable from pompous teenagers working through philosophical basics. — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026

Chelsea then imposed what turned out to be a false and ultimately quite pompous deadline. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

see pomp

Noun

Middle English pompousnesse, from pompous + -nesse -ness

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for pompous

• compas

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