pontificate

1 of 2

verb

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkāt 

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

(ˌ)pän-ˌti-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

pontificator

pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkā-tər 

noun

pontificate

2 of 2

noun

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈti-fi-kət 

-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

Verb

Francis chose to use that platform to pontificate against the war in the Gaza Strip, for example, and even rebuked President Donald Trump’s stance on immigration. —Alexander Smith, NBC news, 9 May 2025

For nearly two decades, this central meeting hub has provided a space for industry professionals and festival goers alike to educate, discuss and pontificate over networking events, panels and more. —Elsa Ramo, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025

Noun

How does this compare to Pope Francis? Support for Pope Leo mirrors support for his predecessor at the start of his pontificate, researchers said. —Natalie Demaree, Miami Herald, 16 June 2025

The inaugural Mass marked the official beginning of Leo’s pontificate. —Molly Bohannon, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025

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

Rhymes for pontificate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

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Kids Definition

pontificate

1 of 2 noun

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈtif-i-kət 

-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 

pontificated; pontificating

: to speak pompously