Definition

Pompous refers to behavior, speech or attitude that is marked by an excessive display of dignity, self-importance or exaggerated show of importance.

Pronunciation

US English

UK English


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Excerpts from News Articles

1

But the traditional pomp and sacred singing then gave way to modern realities. Francis later went up to the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to deliver his twice-yearly "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message and blessing, addressing a crowd the Vatican estimated at about 100,000.

Logo 2023-04-09 Channel NewsAsia

2

Perhaps what we need is a President Macron figure. There was a certain ridiculous pomposity when he vowed to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a fire in 2019 because “Notre Dame, c’est nous”. Yet, there is nonetheless something in what he said because these old churches are infused with our collective history.

Logo 2023-04-08 The Guardian

3

The traditional pomp and sacred singing then gave way to modern realities. Francis went up to the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to deliver his twice-yearly Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) message and blessing, addressing a crowd the Vatican estimated at about 100,000.

Logo 2023-04-09 The Guardian

4

Biden is expected to leave Belfast in the early afternoon to head south across the border for three days of pomp and pilgrimage in Ireland.

Logo 2023-04-11 The Guardian

5

In his pomp , he would have loved the intolerance, the viciousness, the very British race struggle in our politics right now: the tussle of one side to out-racist the other, to make complexity and decency look weak, often leveraging polite and innocent sounding substitutes and subtleties for race along the way – think: wokeness, political correctness, virtue signalling. Call it Atwater signalling perhaps, make a dead man happy. But ultimately we must decide if we are happy with politics conducted like this.

Logo 2023-04-12 The Guardian

6

PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron landed in China to a red-carpet reception and all the pomp of a state visit, a three-day tour little short of a love-fest that he clearly hoped would further his ambitions for France to sit at the table of the great powers in a world changed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s emergence as an arbiter of global conflict.

Logo 2023-04-11 The New York Times

7

But the traditional pomp and sacred singing then gave way to modern realities. Francis later went up to the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to deliver his twice-yearly "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message and blessing, addressing a crowd the Vatican estimated at about 100,000.

Logo 2023-04-09 Reuters

8

Charles will be crowned at London's Westminster Abbey on May 6 in a ceremony full of resplendent pomp and pageantry, with traditions dating back 1,000 years.

Logo 2023-04-09 Reuters

9

Charles will be crowned at London's Westminster Abbey on May 6 in a ceremony resplendent with pomp and pageantry, with traditions dating back 1,000 years.

Logo 2023-04-15 Reuters

10

Charles will be crowned at London's Westminster Abbey in a ceremony resplendent with pomp and pageantry, with traditions dating back 1,000 years, in an event attended by foreign heads of state and dignitaries.

Logo 2023-04-17 Reuters

11

LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) - King Charles became monarch of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth in September, but in May he will be crowned in a ceremony full of pomp , pageantry and solemn religious significance.

Logo 2023-04-18 Reuters

12

Still, the unthinkable, panic-sweat-inducing tasks imagined at four in the morning nearly always transform into banalities, bitterness fading, by new day’s light. At least, the Protestant work ethic makes it so….The Mahony family scrapes by under their new circumstances. Mary brushes away Richard’s pompous fixation on propriety—they can’t afford it—and proves herself equal to work. This fortitude is cast as admirable. But ultimately, the book is not The Fortunes of Mary Mahony. H. H. R.’s real fascination lies with Richard.

Logo 2023-04-17 Literary Hub

13

We’re used to seeing the hubbub surrounding former Presidents, and in that respect Trump’s arraignment, an event of pomp and bad circumstance, felt like Opposite Day. Armed with all the motorcades and private jets and Secret Service men in the world, he was returning to New York not to attend a state funeral, stump for a party mate, or open a Presidential library (as if) but to turn himself in to law enforcement.

Logo 2023-04-05 The New Yorker

14

When the pomp and circumstance after all those years of hard study dies down, many college graduates find themselves with another mountain to climb: Paying off student loans. The average student loan balance in 2021, the latest numbers available, stood at nearly {$}39,500, according to the Federal Reserve. Remember, that’s average—there are plenty of new folks entering the workforce for the first time who are carrying a far heavier load.


15

He was also a survivor, forever leaving past sorrows behind, jauntily shuffling off to new adventures. The Tramp’s appeal was universal: audiences loved his cheekiness, his deflation of pomposity , his casual savagery, his unexpected gallantry, and his resilience in the face of adversity. Some historians have traced the Tramp’s origins to Chaplin’s Dickensian childhood, while others have suggested that the character had its roots in the motto of Chaplin’s mentor, Fred Karno: “Keep it wistful, gentlemen, keep it wistful.


16

At the same time, friends say, Lee didn’t want pomp around his own successes. Wills tried to nominate him for an award in Missouri, and Lee kept putting him off.

Logo 2023-04-07 The Washington Post

17

LONDON — The procession route for King Charles III’s coronation will be shorter than the one his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, took on her coronation day 70 years ago. But otherwise, there are few signs that the British royals are toning down the pomp for the May 6 ceremonies. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Logo 2023-04-10 The Washington Post

18

“My biggest fear ever meeting with you or anything like this is I come across a pompous a--,” he said. “I’m really not trying to be. I am who am. I care about what I do. I don’t believe in my own bulls---.”

Logo 2023-04-18 The Washington Post

19

The arty design couldn’t be further away from the buttoned-up political pomp of the nearby Houses of Parliament, balancing sophistication with madcap quirkiness. The sleek, cream-walled and floored lobby area, for example, is furnished with an oversized, shiny black rhino that doubles as a chair, giant postage stamp artworks and sausage dog cushions to add more playful touches.

Logo 2023-04-05 The Independent

20

For a country that’s basically given up on making a living in the world, is set on becoming a Ruritanian museum piece and has always proved itself on the quality of its pomp , ballsing up a coronation is the ultimate failure.

Logo 2023-04-12 The Independent

21

One of the finest comedies to emerge in recent years is Scottish. Scot Squad is made by BBC Scotland and is a mockumentary about the unified Police Scotland force, with an especially strong performance by Jack Docherty as chief commissioner Cameron Miekelson, a man whose incompetence is only matched by his pomposity .

Logo 2023-04-17 The Independent

22

He wrote of the “magnificence and pomp ” of the historic occasion – Britain’s first coronation since that of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 – but added: “In the midst of this glorious spectacle is a moment of stillness and simplicity.

Logo 2023-04-18 The Independent

23

Welby wrote about the “magnificence and pomp ” of the historic occasion, but said the anointing of the King will be a moment of “stillness and simplicity”.

Logo 2023-04-18 The Independent

24

One of the finest comedies to emerge in recent years is Scottish. Scot Squad is made by BBC Scotland and is a mockumentary about the unified Police Scotland force, with an especially strong performance by Jack Docherty as chief commissioner Cameron Miekelson, a man whose incompetence is only matched by his pomposity .

Logo 2023-04-18 The Independent

25

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly, we speak with three researchers who study how climate research is funded to find out whether the pomp and circumstance of these prizes outweighs the actual research they fund, or whether they actually play an important role in the larger effort to find climate solutions.

Logo 2023-04-06 The Conversation

26

Whatever happened to pomp and circumstance eh?

Logo 2023-04-10 The Spectator

27

French president Emmanuel Macron, the self-appointed leader of Europe, is having a not so great week. His multi-day visit to China and successive meetings with Xi Jinping were high on pomp but low on deliverables. But it was during the plane ride back to Paris, when he gabbed with journalists, that he got into trouble.

Logo 2023-04-12 The Spectator

28

Charles will be crowned at London's Westminster Abbey in a ceremony resplendent with pomp and pageantry, with traditions dating back 1,000 years, in an event attended by foreign heads of state and dignitaries.

Logo 2023-04-18 CGTN

29

Coronations at Westminster Abbey go back almost one thousand years. They have become a well-rehearsed, finely tuned machine. Yet, despite all the pomp and ceremony, there have been times when they have gone disastrously wrong.

Logo 2023-04-21 CNN News

30

I liked the idea of Stonehenge touring – turning up in your local park unannounced, then disappearing after a day, becoming a part of folk memory. The Olympic movement can be so pompous , taking itself so seriously with all these weird rituals and hierarchies, a bit like a religion. A country or institution that can’t laugh at itself is in trouble, and Sacrilege was my attempt to help with this situation.

Logo 2023-04-23 The Guardian

31

Mr. Humphries took the character to London. The understated, somewhat gloomy humor was not grabbing audiences or reviewers. Gradually, Mr. Humphries glammed up Edna’s wardrobe and spiced up her wit, getting more suggestive and taking harder slaps at society. Favorite targets were the rich and pompous and vain. The point: They are just as foolish and insecure as everyone else.

Logo 2023-04-22 The Washington Post

32

One of the finest comedies to emerge in recent years is Scottish. Scot Squad is made by BBC Scotland and is a mockumentary about the unified Police Scotland force, with an especially strong performance by Jack Docherty as chief commissioner Cameron Miekelson, a man whose incompetence is only matched by his pomposity .

Logo 2023-04-19 The Independent

33

Welby wrote about the “magnificence and pomp ” of the historic occasion, but said the anointing of the King will be a moment of “stillness and simplicity”.

Logo 2023-04-19 The Independent

34

It’s good to see the Queen’s son has more of the common touch than the rest of the royals. Parker Bowles is unobtrusive, and utterly untouched by pomp and ceremony. He apparently travels on the Tube – wow – and lives a “normal” life for somebody who counts Prince William and Harry as stepbrothers.

Logo 2023-04-22 The Independent

35

It was that towering skewerer of pomposity and humbug, and gate-crasher of Royal boxes, Dame Edna Everage. It was Australia’s roving cultural attaché and Australian Minister for the Yartz, Sir Les Patterson. It was pathetic Melbourne suburban pensioner, Sandy Stone. It was colonial hellraiser Barry McKenzie. It was a host of other characters, who burst forth from Humphries’s determination to be different in a world that worshipped conformity, and his witheringly sharp eye for the absurdities of the human condition.

Logo 2023-04-22 The Spectator