pompous

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French pompeux, from Late Latin pomposus, from Latin pompa (“pomp”), from Ancient Greek πομπή (pompē, “a sending, a solemn procession, pomp”), from πέμπω (“I send”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpɒmpʌs/

Adjective

pompous (comparative more pompous, superlative most pompous)

1. 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 Sedley did not venture, in her presence, to give way to any ebullitions of private grief."

Synonyms

• affected
• conceited
• pretentious
• smug
• See also Wikisaurus:arrogant

Antonyms

• humble
• modest
• self-effacing

Related terms

• pomp
• pomposity
• pompously

Translations

affectedly grand

Catalan: pompós (ca) Czech: pompézní Finnish: turhantärkeä (fi) French: pompeux (fr), emphatique (fr) German: pompös (de)

Romanian: pompos (ro) Russian: помпезный (ru) Spanish: majestuoso (es) m., majestuosa (es) f., pomposo (es) m. Swedish: pompös (sv)

External links

• pompous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• pompous in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• pompous at OneLook Dictionary Search