Robin W. WinksJoseph Epstein
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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
John Kell, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024
The Point Grey trio pontificated on the deal’s announcement with their customary style.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Jan. 2024
The shorts featured himself and Nathan Dales as hicks hanging out at the produce stand and pontificating about their problems in quick jump cuts.
—Amber Dowling, Variety, 23 Dec. 2023
A day before all hell broke loose at OpenAI, its new interim CEO Emmett Shear was firing off posts on X, formerly Twitter, pontificating about whether AI could make the CEO role obsolete.
—Trey Williams, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2023
For business leaders, APEC is an opportunity to schmooze, press their agendas and pontificate about the state of the world.
—Thomas Black, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2023
The new format, which will run 20 episodes and be available in video and audio formats, includes wide-ranging chats with the whole family as Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly, and Jack pontificate on everything from romance to true crime.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2023
Among his latest obsessions is pontificating on the investigation into the cocaine found in the White House on July 2.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 17 July 2023
The title track to 1994’s Parklife is best remembered for its scene-stealing guest appearance by actor Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia, EastEnders), pontificating on his daily routine of having a cup of tea in the morning and feeding the pigeons.
—Al Shipley, SPIN, 12 June 2023
Christopher Lamb, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Glendon, a Harvard law professor and human-rights scholar who served as President George W. Bush’s ambassador to the Holy See, recounts her experiences in the Vatican across the past three pontificates, as a diplomat, adviser, and consultant.
—Katherine Howell, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023
The historical abnormality of modern-day unbelief was a theme of Pope Benedict XVI’s in the years before, during, and after his pontificate.
—Katherine Howell, National Review, 30 Nov. 2023
On the occasion of his death in 1873, that of the greatest Catholic layman in Italy and the most important modern intellectual influence in the strengthening and deepening of the Catholic spirit of its people, the pontificate of Pope Pius IX had nothing to say.
—David Harsanyi, National Review, 25 Jan. 2024
Also crucial is how Francis — for this first time in his pontificate, the only Vatican figure dressed in white — will speak about his predecessor.
—Stefano Pitrelli, Washington Post, 1 Jan. 2023
In it, actors portraying the European revolutionary and the ancient Chinese sage pontificate on their doctrines and discover that their ideas are in perfect harmony.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2023
His influence on the world stage, which seemed so significant at the beginning of his pontificate, has been buffeted by the prevailing winds of international politics, macroeconomic pressures and recalcitrant human behavior.
—Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023
History's first Latin American pope has made the plight of migrants a priority of his 10-year pontificate, traveling to Lampedusa in his first trip as pope to honor migrants who drowned.
—Nicole Winfield and Sylvie Corbet The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pontificate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
Medieval Latin pontificatus, past participle of pontificare, from Latin pontific-, pontifex
Noun
Middle English, from Latin pontificatus, from pontific-, pontifex
Verb
1818, in the meaning defined at sense 2a
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined above
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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 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
pontificate
1 of 2 noun
pontificate
2 of 2 verb
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