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

Manji will appear as Crispin, an arrogant, pompous employee at a fancy, high-end hardware store who snubs George. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2024

Still, this adaptation of an O. Henry story tilts all its sympathies toward the outlaw hero the Cisco Kid (Warner Baxter, in a Best Actor–winning role) and away from the pompous white soldier charged with tracking him down. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2024

Both Anna and Ivan had wanted to keep it small and simple, to do something at a cafe, nothing pompous, but one thing led to another, and all their relatives came. —Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024

And will Ingrid forgive him for being such a pompous jerk? —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 19 Sep. 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