pontificate

[ noun pon-tif-i-kit, -keyt; verb pon-tif-i-keyt ]

noun

1. the office or term of office of a pontiff.

verb (used without object)

, pon·tif·i·cat·ed, pon·tif·i·cat·ing.

1. to perform the office or duties of a pontiff.
2. to speak in a pompous or dogmatic manner:

   Did he pontificate about the responsibilities of a good citizen?

3. to serve as a bishop, especially in a Pontifical Mass.

pontificate

verb

1. to speak or behave in a pompous or dogmatic manner Also (less commonly)pontifyˈpɒntɪˌfaɪ
2. to serve or officiate as a pontiff, esp in celebrating a Pontifical Mass

noun

1. the office or term of office of a pontiff, now usually the pope

Other Words From

• pon·tif·i·ca·tion [pon-tif-i-, key, -sh, uh, n], noun
• pon·tif·i·ca·tor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pontificate¹

First recorded in 1400–50. The noun is from Latin pontificātus, derivative of pontific- (stem of pontifex ) + -ātus noun suffix denoting office or function; pontifex, -ate ³. The verb is from Medieval Latin pontificātus, past participle of pontificāre “to be an ecclesiastic”; -ate ¹

Example Sentences

In the wake of Francis’s surgery, Alberto Melloni, a church historian, argued that this pontificate has entered a concluding chapter, where he will have to make decisions about the final things he might want to prioritize.

From Washington Post

But of course, there is the now fading memory of the election that followed the long pontificate of Pius XII.

From The Daily Beast

Benedict may well want to cut short the time available for the cardinals to politick, posture, and pontificate, as it were.

From The Daily Beast

The deficit hawks pontificate on camera while in the wings the tradesmen of the Congress fill districts with holiday cheer.

From The Daily Beast

The pope of Rome sent him a full set of all the medals struck during his pontificate.

From Project Gutenberg

Cossa kept his word never to appeal against the sentence which stripped him of the pontificate.

From Project Gutenberg

His cosmography, like all of them, began with the creation and came down to the pontificate of Martin V who was then Pope.

From Project Gutenberg

Luther attacked not the abuses of the Roman pontificate, but the pontificate itself.

From Project Gutenberg

Ferdinando de Medici, then a cardinal, had just failed in his candidacy for the pontificate (outwitted by that fox Montalto).

From Project Gutenberg