pompous
/ˈpɒmpəs/
"pompous" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pompous” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,919. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #26,919
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important.
Corpus desk
Index EN-pompous · pompous · English
pompous · rank #26,919 · 10 variants · 1 confusable
- FREQ-MID #26,919
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH polarity
Nearest frequency peer: polarity (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “pompous”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- platt
platt
73,085 corpus weight
- plunging
plunging
73,084 corpus weight
- polarity
polarity
73,083 corpus weight
- pompous
pompous
73,082 corpus weight
- Portman
Portman
73,081 corpus weight
- profanity
profanity
73,080 corpus weight
What this shows “pompous” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pompous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈpɒmpəs/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #26,919 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pompous”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around pompous (IPA /ˈpɒmpəs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #26,919 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for pompous, with forms such as "opmpous", "pmopous", and "pommpous". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "porous", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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, “I send”), equivalent to pomp + -ous. Doublet of … The correct English form is pompous, spelled P-O-M-P-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Affectedly grand, solemn or self-important.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pompous appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
But man is a Noble Animal, splendid in ashes, and pompous in the grave, solemnizing Nativities and Deaths with equal lustre, nor omitting Ceremonies of bravery, in the infamy of his nature.
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 her eyes, Miss Samuel did not venture, in her presence, to give way to any ebullitions of private grief.
Etymology
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, “I send”), equivalent to pomp + -ous. Doublet of pomposo.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- opmpous
- pmopous
- pommpous
- pomopus
- pomposu
- pompouss
- pomppous
- pompuos
- popmous
- ppompous
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pompous - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pompous", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).