pompous
/ˈpɑmpəs/adjective
pompous is spelled P-O-M-P-O-U-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pompous means “Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pompous?
| Letters | 7: P-O-M-P-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 26,776th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pompous?
Pompous appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 26,776th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pompous?
- UK /ˈpɒmpəs/
- US /ˈpɑmpəs/
Pompous has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pompous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pompous
- more pompous comparative
- most pompous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pompous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important.
Not that the parting speech caused Amelia to philosophise, or that it armed her in any way with a calmness, the result of argument; but it was intolerably dull, pompous, and tedious; and having the fear of her schoolmistress greatly before
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pompous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense affectedly grand:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pompeux, emphatique |
| German | pompös, schwülstig |
| Portuguese | pomposo |
| Spanish | pomposo, rimbombante, campanudo, ampuloso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pompous come from?
From Middle English pompous, from Old French pompeux, pompos, from Late Latin pomposus, from Latin pompa (“pomp”), from Ancient Greek πομπή (pompḗ, “a sending, a solemn procession, pomp”), from πέμπω (pémpō, “to send”), equivalent to pomp + -ous. Doublet of pomposo.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).