pontificate
/pɒnˈtɪf.ɪ.kət/
pontificate · noun — the status or term of office of a pontiff or pontifex. It carries an Arena rating of 1899, earned across 44 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pontificate ranks #64 of 17,197 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #431 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #637 of 17,165 for Most Satisfying to Say, #806 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
pontificate is pronounced /pɒnˈtɪf.ɪ.kət/.
Why “pontificate” is a great word
PONTIFICATE — [Verb] To express one's opinions in a pompous, dogmatic, or supercilious manner, especially at length. From Latin pontificatus, from pontifex ("high priest, pontiff"), from pons ("bridge") + facere ("to make, do"). Unlike "opine," which neutrally states a view, or "preach," which earnestly advocates a creed, to pontificate is to pronounce from a self-constructed dais. It is the humid drone of a dinner-party monologue, the paternalistic tone of a critic explaining your pleasure away, or the definitive pronouncement on parenting from someone without children—a performance of authority where the only thing truly built is a monument to the self.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Latin pontificatus, from pontifex (“high priest”), from pons (“bridge”) + facere (“make”).
noun
- The status or term of office of a pontiff or pontifex.
verb
- To preside as a bishop, especially at mass.
- To act like a pontiff; to express one's position or opinions dogmatically and pompously as if they were absolutely correct.
- To speak in a patronizing, supercilious or pompous manner, especially at length.e.g.“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.” — 2007 May 13, Patrick Healy, “In New Role, Senator Clinton’s Strategist in Chief”, in New York Times:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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