1
as in arrogant
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude
the pompous waiter served us in the manner of a person doing some poor soul a great favor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
a pompous piano teacher who thought that the music world was lucky to have her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pretentious
self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance
a pompous gambling casino decorated to look like a palace in ancient Rome
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 pompous
Over two films, Reed faced off against Victor, the pompous and vengeful CEO of Von Doom Industries.
—
Derek Lawrence, Vulture, 30 July 2025
Louis Partridge will take on Mr Darcy’s nemesis, Mr Wickham with Jamie Demetriou turning his hand to the pompous Mr Collins and Fiona Shaw as the fearsome Lady Catherine de Bourg.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 29 July 2025
Warner also had a memorable guest arc as Eric Sanders, pompous boyfriend of Karyn Parsons' Hilary Banks, on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
—EW.com, 21 July 2025
As pompous actor Garry, Nehal Joshi aces the tough task of making his character’s halting, inarticulate speech sound authentic.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pompous
Derek Lawrence, Vulture, 30 July 2025
Louis Partridge will take on Mr Darcy’s nemesis, Mr Wickham with Jamie Demetriou turning his hand to the pompous Mr Collins and Fiona Shaw as the fearsome Lady Catherine de Bourg.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 29 July 2025
Warner also had a memorable guest arc as Eric Sanders, pompous boyfriend of Karyn Parsons' Hilary Banks, on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
—EW.com, 21 July 2025
As pompous actor Garry, Nehal Joshi aces the tough task of making his character’s halting, inarticulate speech sound authentic.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pompous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pompous
Adjective
-
Zane played the arrogant Cal Hockley, who was engaged to Jack's love interest, Rose (played by Kate Winslet).—
Virginia Chamlee,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Hardly seems like enough to cow these arrogant companies into behaving, especially when their business model is so intrinsically tied to hoovering up other people’s information and creative work.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Colum’s smug assurance that the wedding will happen soon is rocked when Ned shows up with news of the Grants’ suspicions about the raid.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Howard sells his smug malice, digging into Matt in a way no one has before until the whole thing devolves into a physical fight.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Their pretentious vocabulary is what’s keeping progressives from connecting with everyday Americans, according to a memo prepared by a left-leaning think tank and aimed at helping Democrats regain their common touch.—
Nolan Finley,
Twin Cities,
11 Sep. 2025
-
For him, the only way to tell those stories without being pretentious is to wrap them in insanity.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
As Cantillo dissected his outing, Hedges peered over at him, beaming like a proud father.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
-
But the proud Eugene will not hear of it.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This grandiose opera house in Guangzhou—an hour northwest of Hong Kong by train—opened in 2010 using the plans for the Cardiff Bay Opera House in Wales, which was never built.—
Mae Hamilton,
AFAR Media,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The monumental, symmetrical building had a grandiose entrance mimicking the front of the Greek temple, and the glass and iron dome at the structure’s center was erected using the latest construction techniques.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Overblown, ostentatious hybrids of classical and local styles, kitschily ornamented with classical detail, all on a scale meant to be overwhelming rather than inviting—that’s what Big Brother’s city hall always looks like.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Now, the Chinese leader is set to exhibit a very different image with an ostentatious show of military might.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Kirk promised that her husband will not have died in vain and said that instead his message would only become stronger.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Thomas doesn't want her daughter to die in vain, either.—
Nushrat Rahman,
Freep.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Their music provided a suitably self-important soundtrack as Great Recession-era artisanal hipsterdom faded into the careerist hopefulness of the latter Obama years, when Everlane minimalism supplanted lumberjack plaid.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
13 Aug. 2025
-
The effort was pointless and self-important and never once determined the Legislature could promote happiness by lowering the cost of living and staying out of people’s lives.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pompous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pompous. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share