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''pontificate'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20261015004146-00-⌔

pontificate - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

pontificate (plural pontificates)

  • The status or term of office of a pontiff or pontifex.

Verb

pontificate (third-person singular simple present pontificates, present participle pontificating, simple past and past participle pontificated)

  • (intransitive) To preside as a bishop, especially at mass.
  • (intransitive) To act like a pontiff; to express one’s position or opinions dogmatically and pompously as if they were absolutely correct.
  • (intransitive) To speak in a patronizing, supercilious or pompous manner, especially at length.
    • ✤ During a policy discussion awhile back about New York issues, when Mr. Clinton began to pontificate, she told him that he did not exactly know what he was talking about and to hush up.1
    • ✤ “Do you hear that, Ryan? Your mommy is being a pontificating windbag.”2

Etymology 1

From Latin pontificatus, from pontifex (“high priest”), from pons (“bridge”) + facere (“make”).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /pɒnˈtɪf.ɪ.kət/
  • (US) IPA: /pɔnˈtɪf.ə.kət/, /pɔnˈtɪf.ɪ.kət/
  • Audio (US): 🔊
  • Audio (Australia): 🔊

Etymology 2

From the past participle stem of Medieval Latin pontificō, from Latin pontifex (“high priest”), from pons (“bridge”) + facere (“make”).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /pɒnˈtɪf.ɪ.keɪt/
  • (US) IPA: /pɔnˈtɪf.ə.keɪt/, /pɔnˈtɪf.ɪ.keɪt/
  • Audio (US): 🔊

Printed 2026-10-15.

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Footnotes

  1. 2007 May 13, Patrick Healy, “In New Role, Senator Clinton’s Strategist in Chief”, in New York Times ‎, archived from the original on 11 September 2025: ↩

  2. 2014 January 16, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 482 - Blood: ↩