| Learning / English Dictionary |
PONTIFICAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The vestments and other insignia of a pontiff (especially a bishop)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("pontifical" is a kind of...):
vestment (gown (especially ceremonial garments) worn by the clergy)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Puffed up with vanity
Example:
pseudo-scientific gobbledygook and pontifical hooey
Synonyms:
grandiloquent; overblown; pompous; pontifical; portentous
Classified under:
Similar:
pretentious (making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Denoting or governed by or relating to a bishop or bishops
Synonyms:
episcopal; pontifical
Classified under:
Relational adjectives (pertainyms)
Pertainym:
bishop (a senior member of the Christian clergy having spiritual and administrative authority; appointed in Christian churches to oversee priests or ministers; considered in some churches to be successors of the twelve Apostles of Christ)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Proceeding from or ordered by or subject to a pope or the papacy regarded as the successor of the Apostles
Example:
papal dispensation
Synonyms:
apostolic; apostolical; papal; pontifical
Classified under:
Relational adjectives (pertainyms)
Pertainym:
pope (the head of the Roman Catholic Church)
Derivation:
pontiff (the head of the Roman Catholic Church)
