- of, relating to, or characteristic of a pontiff, the pope, or a bishop
- having an excessively authoritative manner; pompous
- a book containing the prayers and ritual instructions for ceremonies restricted to a bishop
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pon•tif•i•cal /pɑnˈtɪfɪkəl/USA pronunciation
adj. pompous;
overly self-important:the law professor's pontifical air.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- of or relating to a pontiff:a pontifical decree.
overly self-important:the law professor's pontifical air.
pon•tif•i•cal
(pon tif′i kəl),USA pronunciation adj.
n.
pon•tif′i•cal•ly, adv.
- Religionof, pertaining to, or characteristic of a pontiff;
papal. - pompous, dogmatic, or pretentious:to resent someone's pontifical manner.
n.
- Religion(in the Western Church) a book containing the forms for the sacraments and other rites and ceremonies to be performed by bishops.
- Religion pontificals, the vestments and other insignia of a pontiff, esp. a bishop.
- Latin pontificālis, equivalent. to pontific- (stem of pontifex) pontifex + -ālis -al1
- Middle English 1350–1400
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pontifical /pɒnˈtɪfɪkəl/ adj
'pontifical' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
pontifex
- pontificate
- Aaronical
- buskin
- fanon
- pontific
- Pontifical College
- Pontifical Mass
- prothonotary
- vimpa