pontificate

noun
/pɒnˈtɪf.ɪ.kət/UK/pɔnˈtɪf.ə.kət/US/pɒnˈtɪf.ɪ.keɪt/UK/pɔnˈtɪf.ə.keɪt/US

Etymology

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

  1. derived from pontificatus

Definitions

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

  2. To preside as a bishop, especially at mass.

  3. To act like a pontiff

    To act like a pontiff; to express one's position or opinions dogmatically and pompously as if they were absolutely correct.

  4. + 1 more definition
    1. To speak in a patronizing, supercilious or pompous manner, especially at length.

      • During a policy discussion awhile^([sic]) 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.
      • "Do you hear that, Ryan? Your mommy is being a pontificating windbag."

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for pontificate. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA