pompous

adjective

ˈpäm-pəs How to pronounce pompous (audio)
Definition of pompousnext
1
as in arrogant
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude the pompous waiter served us in the manner of a person doing some poor soul a great favor

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself a pompous piano teacher who thought that the music world was lucky to have her

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in pretentious
self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance a pompous gambling casino decorated to look like a palace in ancient Rome

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pompous Among them a City boy wearing three Fit-Bit-type devices, two beautiful Middle Eastern sisters, an outrageously pompous elderly American (sorry; eavesdropping), and several Imelda Marcos lookalikes, tottering out of the treatment rooms with, somehow, their elaborate hairstyles still intact. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026 Far from being arty or pompous, Tull laced its sound with a wicked sense of humor and occasional social commentary. — Ernesto Lechner, SPIN, 25 May 2026 The usually pompous Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May 9th had to be pared down for fear of Ukrainian drones. — Natasha Lindstaedt, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026 Then give the land back, you pompous charlatans. — Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 2 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for pompous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pompous
  1. arrogant
  2. smug
  3. pretentious
  4. proud
  5. grandiose
  6. self-important
  7. ostentatious
  8. vainglorious
Adjective
  • Ever-sensible Elinor, who never asks for much, has already met, and fallen for, Edward Ferrars (George MacKay), Fanny’s brother, as kind and modest as Fanny is arrogant.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Hal and Kate, having misread Trowbridge’s shock and dismay at the tragic death of Austin Dennison as a worse-than-usual bit of arrogant posturing, switch to Bad Cop mode.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of arrogant
Adjective
  • Here was my chance to get out of London, this counterfeit of death with its everywhere rage and its moribund culture and its smug population and its streets steeped in resentment and the sky pressing down like a chloroform rag.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Hilton vouches for their integrity, then quickly pivots into an attack on smug Democrats who take voters for granted.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of smug
Adjective
  • More than a little pretentious, with all the resources a $5 trillion market cap can bring to bear on every problem.
    — Aurich Lawson, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • But others have slammed the effort as a pretentious and obnoxious slog.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of pretentious
Adjective
  • And like many on the margins, Kanchan was proud of her right to vote — a rare equalizer in unequal India.
    — Diaa Hadid, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The only thing that matters is that my kids, their moms and my dad are proud of me.
    — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of proud
Adjective
  • At the end of the day, and of his essay, Thiel’s grandiose language and project is shown to be a rather ordinary ideological one.
    — David Gibson, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The grandiose panic room where Kate and Hal are locked down after the shooting was filmed in the crypt of a church on the Upper West Side.
    — Emily Zemler, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of grandiose
Adjective
  • These species, along with teal and shovelers, often get categorized by self-important duck hunters as scrap ducks or bonus ducks.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Public officials attend each year to bear witness and show their respects, not deliver self-important speeches.
    — Ken Frydman, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of self-important
Adjective
  • Extol the poet’s life, but Meyers is revealed to live in an ostentatious loft bought by rich parents.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Even in a nation known for ostentatious displays of baseball obsession, the ensuing theatrics went viral.
    — Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of ostentatious
Adjective
  • Claire’s elective death therefore remains a problematic choice for some viewers, an act of vainglorious selfishness from a woman who was never terribly nice to begin with.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026
  • Melodramatic and vainglorious, moody and capricious, a fidgety, neurotic hypochondriac, Stalin was a bundle of appalling contradictions.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Feb. 2026
Definition of vainglorious

Browse Nearby Words

pomposity
pompous
pompously
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Cite this Entry

“Pompous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pompous. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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