pontificate
verb
pon·tif·i·cate
| \ pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkāt
\
\
pontificated;
pontificating
Definition of pontificate
(Entry 1 of 2)
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
2a
: to officiate as a pontiff
b
: to celebrate pontifical mass
pontificate
noun
pon·tif·i·cate
| \ pän-ˈti-fi-kət
, -ˌkāt\
, -ˌkāt\
Definition of pontificate (Entry 2 of 2)
: the state, office, or term of office of a pontiff
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Other Words from pontificate
Verb
pontification
\ (ˌ)pän-ˌti-fə-ˈkā-shən
\
noun
\
noun
pontificator
\ pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkā-tər
\
noun
\
noun
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
But in the spirit of the Edge Question that Brockman used to toss out for his crowd to pontificate on, here’s a Big Question: What ideas did Jeffrey Epstein shape? — Adam Rogers, WIRED, "Jeffrey Epstein and the Power of Networks," 27 Aug. 2019 Second Saturday Wine Nights — Champagne & Port SAT Learn to taste and pontificate on rare bottles French Champagne and Port from Portugal, 8 p.m. Saturday, The Knife Room at Nordo, 103 S. Main St., Seattle; $40 (206-579-6215 or CafeNordo.com). — Madeline Mckenzie, The Seattle Times, "Community calendar: Great Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition, Winter Solstice Night Market, Jingle Bell Run," 5 Dec. 2018 Fund managers who knew little or nothing about Turkey were pontificating about its macroeconomic weakness, and money was pouring out. — James Mackintosh, WSJ, "How I Won A Bet By Loving the Turkish Lira," 20 Aug. 2018 You’re not just some person pontificating on startups, of which there are many. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Startup advisor Elad Gil is worried that we’re losing our ability to be optimistic about tech," 20 Aug. 2018 The idea of men sitting around on all these networks pontificating on a woman's dress, why aren't women talking about veils and dresses? — Fox News, "New data reveals US faces legal immigration crisis," 22 May 2018 After weeks of wondering and pontificating over every pitch meeting the star center took, John Tavares signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for seven years at an $11 million AAV. — Michael Blinn, SI.com, "John Tavares Joins Promising Maple Leafs With Seven-Year Deal," 30 June 2018 Feiffer structures the first part of the play as an almost-monologue for David (Tom Aulino), with occasional interruptions from Ella (Rebecca Berens), who largely keeps to her function: serving as her pontificating father’s raptly adoring audience. — Christine Dolen, miamiherald, "'I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard' does, sadly, reflect the dark soul of our times," 11 June 2018 Instead, her subjects pontificate at length, seemingly without challenge or direction, and missed opportunities mount as the book progresses. — Sarah Jones, The New Republic, "The Myth of Trump’s Populist Revolt," 18 May 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Pope Francis has made overcoming the rift with Beijing a priority of his pontificate, although full diplomatic relations aren’t in sight. — Eva Dou, WSJ, "Vatican Encourages Chinese Catholic Priests to Register With Beijing," 28 June 2019 Advocacy for migrants has been a signature issue for Pope Francis since the start of his pontificate. — Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, "Pope Brings Pro-Migrant Message to Central America," 24 Jan. 2019 Pope Francis established the council in 2013, the first year of his pontificate. — Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, "Pope Cuts Three Cardinals—Two Tainted by Scandal—From Council," 12 Dec. 2018 If the pope knew of that dossier and nevertheless empowered the cardinal to represent and influence the church world-wide for five years, the future of this pontificate is in the gravest doubt. — Robert P. George, WSJ, "Is It Time for Pope Francis to Resign?," 30 Aug. 2018 The most prominent doctrinal question in the current pontificate has been over divorce. — Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, "Pope Benedict Protects Pope Francis’ Right Flank," 13 Mar. 2018 Three months ago, Pope Francis was at the low point of his five-year pontificate in terms of public image and credibility. — Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, "Pope’s Handling of Sex-Abuse Case Shows Political Savvy," 21 May 2018 Francis’s attributed views aren’t totally unheard of among Christians Francis’s reported dismissal of hell ties into a wider theme of his pontificate: celebrating God’s mercy over God’s judgment. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "Pope Francis reportedly denies the existence of hell. Vatican panics.," 30 Mar. 2018 Five years ago: Pope Benedict XVI bestowed the final Sunday blessing of his pontificate on a cheering crowd in St. Peter's Square. — Mike Rose, cleveland.com, "Today in History: February 24, 2018," 24 Feb. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pontificate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for pontificate
pontificate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of pontificate
(Entry 1 of 2)
disapproving
: to speak or express your opinion about something in a way that shows that you think you are always right
pontificate
noun
English Language Learners Definition of pontificate (Entry 2 of 2)
: the position of a pope
: the period of time during which a particular person is pope
See the full definition for pontificate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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