pontificate

1 of 2

verb

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkāt How to pronounce pontificate (audio)
pontificated; pontificating

intransitive verb

1
: to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way
He does not pontificate about whether one ought to choose, if forced to it, to betray one's country rather than one's friends …Robin W. Winks
What these interviews generally come down to is an invitation to writers to pontificate upon things for which it is either unseemly for them to speak (the quality of their own work) or upon which they are unfit to judge (the state of the cosmos).Joseph Epstein
2
a
: to officiate as a pontiff
b
: to celebrate pontifical mass
pontification noun
pontificator noun

pontificate

2 of 2

noun

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈti-fi-kət How to pronounce pontificate (audio)
-ˌkāt
: the state, office, or term of office of a pontiff

Did you know?

We hate to drone on, so we’ll give you the TL;DR on pontificate. In ancient Rome, a pontifex (plural pontifices) was a member of an important council of priests. With the rise of Catholicism, the title pontifex was transferred to the Pope and to Catholic bishops. From pontifex, by way of Medieval Latin, comes the English verb pontificate, which in the early 1800s meant “to officiate as a pontiff”—that is, as a bishop or Pope. (Note that the noun pontificate), which refers to the state, office, or term of office of a pontiff had been borrowed directly from Latin in the 15th century.) By the late 1800s, pontificate was also being used derisively for lay individuals who spoke as if they had the authority of a member of the clergy. To this day the word connotes an air of spurious superiority—one might consider this sense of pontificate to be the spiritual forerunner of mansplain.

Examples of pontificate in a Sentence

Verb We had to listen to her pontificate about the best way to raise children. Noun He was elected to the pontificate last year. during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Sign Up Moore is the last person who’s going to pontificate about the significance of his official debut as Michigan’s head coach. Austin Meek, The Athletic, 29 Aug. 2024 Those who usually pontificate on the nature of democracy and about what kind of U.S. president would be better for China are at a loss to explain the Trump phenomenon to the Chinese public. Eric X. Li, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2016
Noun
The Francis pontificate has moved the Catholic Church further along in this direction. R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018 During his pontificate, Francis has sought to restore the balance, particularly through his choice of cardinals, and during Trump’s second term of office is expected to appoint a new Archbishop of Washington DC, a crucial appointment. Christopher Lamb, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pontificate 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Medieval Latin pontificatus, past participle of pontificare, from Latin pontific-, pontifex

Noun

Middle English, from Latin pontificatus, from pontific-, pontifex

First Known Use

Verb

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pontificate was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near pontificate

Cite this Entry

“Pontificate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pontificate. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

pontificate

1 of 2 noun
pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈtif-i-kət How to pronounce pontificate (audio)
-ˈtif-ə-ˌkāt
: the office or term of office of a pontiff

pontificate

2 of 2 verb
pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈtif-ə-ˌkāt How to pronounce pontificate (audio)
pontificated; pontificating
: to speak pompously

More from Merriam-Webster on pontificate

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