Robin W. WinksJoseph Epstein
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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
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2024
But Ocko isn’t interested in hearing AI founders pontificate about a magical future decades away, or some giant AI model that will take over the planet, or make workers 30% more effective.
—John Kell, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for pontificate 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pontificate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pontificate
Cite this Entry
“Pontificate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pontificate. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pontificate
1 of 2 noun
pontificate
2 of 2 verb
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