pontificate

1 of 2

verb

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkāt 

pontificated; pontificating

intransitive verb

1

: to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way

He does not pontificate about whether one ought to choose, if forced to it, to betray one's country rather than one's friends …

—Robin W. Winks

What these interviews generally come down to is an invitation to writers to pontificate upon things for which it is either unseemly for them to speak (the quality of their own work) or upon which they are unfit to judge (the state of the cosmos).

—Joseph Epstein

2

a

: to officiate as a pontiff

b

: to celebrate pontifical mass

pontification

(ˌ)pän-ˌti-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

pontificator

pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkā-tər 

noun

pontificate

2 of 2

noun

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈti-fi-kət 

-ˌkāt

: the state, office, or term of office of a pontiff

Did you know?

We hate to drone on, so we’ll give you the TL;DR on pontificate. In ancient Rome, a pontifex (plural pontifices) was a member of an important council of priests. With the rise of Catholicism, the title pontifex was transferred to the Pope and to Catholic bishops. From pontifex, by way of Medieval Latin, comes the English verb pontificate, which in the early 1800s meant “to officiate as a pontiff”—that is, as a bishop or Pope. (Note that the noun pontificate), which refers to the state, office, or term of office of a pontiff had been borrowed directly from Latin in the 15th century.) By the late 1800s, pontificate was also being used derisively for lay individuals who spoke as if they had the authority of a member of the clergy. To this day the word connotes an air of spurious superiority—one might consider this sense of pontificate to be the spiritual forerunner of mansplain.

Examples of pontificate in a Sentence

Verb

We had to listen to her pontificate about the best way to raise children.

Noun

He was elected to the pontificate last year.

during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Sign Up Moore is the last person who’s going to pontificate about the significance of his official debut as Michigan’s head coach. —Austin Meek, The Athletic, 29 Aug. 2024

Those who usually pontificate on the nature of democracy and about what kind of U.S. president would be better for China are at a loss to explain the Trump phenomenon to the Chinese public. —Eric X. Li, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2016

Noun

The Francis pontificate has moved the Catholic Church further along in this direction. —R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018

During his pontificate, Francis has sought to restore the balance, particularly through his choice of cardinals, and during Trump’s second term of office is expected to appoint a new Archbishop of Washington DC, a crucial appointment. —Christopher Lamb, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Medieval Latin pontificatus, past participle of pontificare, from Latin pontific-, pontifex

Noun

Middle English, from Latin pontificatus, from pontific-, pontifex

First Known Use

Verb

1818, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

pontificate

1 of 2 noun

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈtif-i-kət 

-ˈtif-ə-ˌkāt

: the office or term of office of a pontiff

pontificate

2 of 2 verb

pon·​tif·​i·​cate pän-ˈtif-ə-ˌkāt 

pontificated; pontificating

: to speak pompously