pompous
English
Etymology
From Middle English, from Old French pompeux, from Late Latin pomposus, from Latin pompa (“pomp”), from Ancient Greek πομπή (pompḗ, “a sending, a solemn procession, pomp”), from πέμπω (pémpō, “I send”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpɒmpəs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpɑmpəs/
Adjective
pompous (comparative more pompous, superlative most pompous)
- Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important.
- 1848, Thackeray, William Makepeace, Vanity Fair, Bantam Classics (1997), 16:
- "Not that the parting speech caused Amelia to philosophise, or that it armed her in any way with a calmness, the result of argument; but it was intolerably dull, pompous, and tedious; and having the fear of her schoolmistress greatly before her eyes, Miss Samuel did not venture, in her presence, to give way to any ebullitions of private grief."
- 1848, Thackeray, William Makepeace, Vanity Fair, Bantam Classics (1997), 16:
Synonyms
- conceited
- smug
- See also Thesaurus:arrogant
Antonyms
Translations
affectedly grand
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Further reading
- pompous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- pompous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- pompous at OneLook Dictionary Search
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