pompous

Intermediatezipf 3.06

Pronunciation

/ˈpɒmpəs/(POM-pus)

Part of speech

adjectivenegative

Chinese

自大的;浮夸的;装腔作势的

Definition

Affectedly grand, solemn, or self-important; displaying an exaggerated sense of one's own importance.

Word family

  • pomposity/pɒmˈpɒsɪti/(n)自大
  • pompously(adv)自大地

Collocations

  • pompous speech
  • pompous attitude
  • pompous fool
  • pompous tone
  • pompous official

Examples

  1. 1.The pompous bureaucrat insisted on being addressed by his full title at all times. (self-important)
  2. 2.His pompous writing style — full of unnecessarily complex words — obscured rather than illuminated his ideas. (pretentiously grand)

Synonyms

  • pretentious/prɪˈtɛnʃəs/trying to appear more important than one is
  • arrogant/ˈærəɡənt/having an exaggerated sense of self-worth
  • grandiose/ˈɡrændiˌoʊs/impressive or ambitious in scale — often negatively

Etymology

from Latin "pomposus" (stately) — "pompa" (procession, display) from Greek "pompe" (a sending, a solemn procession)