pontificate
verb
Robin W. WinksJoseph Epstein
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
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 8 June 2026
Perhaps Pfleger would be well advised to stick to his faith and his flock and to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, rather than to continue to pontificate from the pulpit — or even the paper.
—Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
Cable news anchors pontificated on the possible environmental toll were the Al Salmi’s cargo of two million barrels of crude discharged into the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 1 Apr. 2026
Known as the Dragon Slayer, he’s often shown meditating, praying, waxing philosophical, and pontificating on nobility, integrity and honor.
—Pamela Chelin, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pontificate
Cite this Entry
“Pontificate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pontificate. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pontificate
1 of 2 noun
pontificate
2 of 2 verb
