pomposo

English

Etymology

From Italian pomposo (“magnificent”). Doublet of pompous.

Adjective

pomposo (comparative more pomposo, superlative most pomposo)

1. (music) Ceremonious and dignified.

Adverb

pomposo (comparative more pomposo, superlative most pomposo)

1. (music) In a ceremonious and dignified manner.

Noun

pomposo (plural pomposos)

1. (slang, derogatory, dated) An arrogant, boastful or self-important person.
   • 1876, Bret Harte, The Poetical Works, Including the Drama of "The Two Men of Sandy Bar", page 414:

     I have heard that this pomposo, this braggart, is a Yankee trick too; that he has the front of a lion, the liver of the chicken.

   • 1912, Grant Richards, Caviare, page 186:

     After all, it isn't amusing for the grand seigneurs, the pomposos, of the art-dealing world to have their opinions first questioned and then disproved again and again by someone so much younger and, according to their standards, so much less equipped.

   • 1992, William F. Buckley, Windfall, The End of the Affair:

     The book's sheer joy lies in her hour-by-hour outwitting the young pomposo, resulting in a frustrated entry in his journal on Sunday morning.

References

• “pomposo”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Italian

Etymology

From Late Latin pompōsus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pomˈpo.zo/, (traditional) /pomˈpo.so/
• Rhymes: -ozo, (traditional) -oso
• Hyphenation: pom‧pó‧so

Adjective

pomposo (feminine pomposa, masculine plural pomposi, feminine plural pompose)

1. magnificent, grand, stately
2. self-important, ostentatious, showy, pompous

Derived terms

• pomposamente

Related terms

• pompa
• pomposità

Portuguese

Etymology

From Late Latin pompōsus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /põˈpo.zu/

• Hyphenation: pom‧po‧so

Adjective

pomposo (feminine pomposa, masculine plural pomposos, feminine plural pomposas, metaphonic)

1. pompous (affectedly grand)

Derived terms

• pomposamente

Related terms

• pompa

Further reading

• “pomposo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “pomposo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin pompōsus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pomˈposo/ [põmˈpo.so]

• Audio (El Salvador):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oso
• Syllabification: pom‧po‧so

Adjective

pomposo (feminine pomposa, masculine plural pomposos, feminine plural pomposas)

1. pompous, highfalutin

Related terms

• pompa
• pomposidad

Further reading

• “pomposo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024