pomposity

pomposities

The noun pomposity means super-sized self-confidence. A person who thinks he or she is better than every else suffers from pomposity — and everyone in that person's life suffers, too.

Pomposity, pronounced "pahm-POSS-ih-tee," isn't just for arrogant people. Things can have this unpleasant quality, too. For example, the pomposity of an award ceremony that presents the winners and judges as the most important people who ever lived will leave viewers cold. Language can also be a victim of pomposity — when someone says, "We dined at our beloved little bistro," another person would say, "We ate at our favorite neighborhood joint."