Definitions

pompous

[pom-puhs] / ˈpɒm pəs /

ADJECTIVE

arrogant, egotistic

Synonyms

STRONGEST

boastful bombastic grandiose imperious overbearing presumptuous pretentious self-centered self-important selfish

WEAK

affected bloated conceited flatulent flaunting flowery fustian grandiloquent high-and-mighty high-flown highfalutin important inflated magisterial magniloquent narcissistic orotund ostentatious overblown pontifical portentous puffed-up rhetorical showy sonorous stuck-up supercilious turgid uppity vain vainglorious windy

Antonyms

STRONGEST

humble modest unselfish

WEAK

dull plain simple unassuming

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The result, typically, is more pompous than practical.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Mr. Broderick, himself a sometime movie star, brings a slyly funny air of noblesse oblige that dovetails amusingly with Jay’s pompous, blinkered dimness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

But because she’s telling the worst men what they want to hear, Stuckey has created space for herself to live out the usually male role of being the pompous bully who will brook no dissent.

From Salon • Dec. 1, 2025

So I just quoted them being completely pompous.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025

Down the hall it went and into the bedrooms, with its strange, pompous little strut.

From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater

Vocabulary lists containing pompous

Flowers for Algernon

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Face It: Selfie Vocab

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More Negative Words to Describe a Person

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