1
as in arrogance
an exaggerated sense of one's importance that shows itself in the making of excessive or unjustified claims
restaurant reviews that are written with a pomposity that will leave a bad taste in anyone's mouth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in vanity
an often unjustified feeling of being pleased with oneself or with one's situation or achievements
his over-the-top trophy mansion should give you some idea of his pomposity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of pomposity
Right now, his focus is on doing eight shows a week, while injecting a Big Easy swing to the Major General’s pomposity.
—
Brent Lang, Variety, 30 Apr. 2025
His boisterous persona was more comical than confrontational, a hot-air balloon of strutting pomposity punctured by his family.
—Jim McKairnes, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
Lacking the pop cultural connection of Vox Lux, The Brutalist’s pomposity becomes unrelatable, if not repugnant.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
The play skewers the social mores and pomposity of Victorian England’s upper crust.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pomposity
Brent Lang, Variety, 30 Apr. 2025
His boisterous persona was more comical than confrontational, a hot-air balloon of strutting pomposity punctured by his family.
—Jim McKairnes, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
Lacking the pop cultural connection of Vox Lux, The Brutalist’s pomposity becomes unrelatable, if not repugnant.
—Armond White, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
The play skewers the social mores and pomposity of Victorian England’s upper crust.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for pomposity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pomposity
Noun
-
Raised on a strict diet of toughness and discipline by his father, Dean arrives with undeniable talent – and an arrogance that quickly earns him enemies.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Things moved about at the top with a little more arrogance and zip but at the bottom was the ever-moving present.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
If there’s not enough space in your vanity to keep the counter clear, a storage cabinet is a great way to keep daily items accessible.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
15 Feb. 2026
-
So, roughly $300 billion – a 7% gap – separates these three countries from California on this vanity scoreboard.—
Jonathan Lansner,
Oc Register,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Despite the contradiction, this strategy worked because elites are universally perceived as out of touch with the real world – with privileged and sheltered life experience that begets a sense of superiority.—
Alexa Beck,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
The result is a battlefield where concealment is harder, decision cycles are faster, and information superiority increasingly depends on who can best collect, process, and act on what their satellites see.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But all options should be considered, using our adult egos.—
Harvey Levine,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Participants are urged to restrain harmful speech, dishonesty, anger and ego.—
Irfan Sarwar,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
On the men’s side, Zuccarello takes pride in his country’s 19-year streak of appearing at the World Championships, and two Norwegians — Brandsegg-Nygård (Detroit) and Stian Solberg (Anaheim) — were drafted in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft.—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Now, Bogaerts, who still keeps tabs on his old team, watches clips of Rafaela being a human highlight reel at his old stomping grounds with pride.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The smugness is thicker than split pea.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Where Spider masked his incompetence with bravado and abrasiveness, Claude put up a thin layer of smugness that collapsed when faced with even a tiny amount of resistance.—
Brian Grubb,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pomposity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pomposity. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
