1
as in arrogance
an exaggerated sense of one's importance that shows itself in the making of excessive or unjustified claims
offended by the pompousness of the minor official
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
the pompousness of the self-made billionaire was evident in the gaudy mansion he built for himself
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pompousness
Any claim for Swift’s genius should reckon with her lapses into imprecision and pompousness.
—
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pompousness
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
-
Trump’s ego can take only so much criticism.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Time draws these kids osmotically through a membrane, turning them into things like us, adults captured by the brittle carapaces of our egos.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Even when working within the constraints of Interior’s own misguided directive, there is an obvious exception that would apply to the pride flag flown at Stonewall, which is for flags that provide historical context.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Marie takes great pride in their work and values the opportunity to contribute.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 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
“Pompousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pompousness. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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