pomp and circumstance
Formal ceremonial display
Pomp and circumstance is elaborate ceremony and formal display, especially surrounding important occasions: the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding, graduation's traditional pomp and circumstance.
The phrase often carries a whiff of excess or pretension—all that grandeur might be impressive or might be overblown, depending on your taste for pageantry.
Ceremonial brass announcement
- spectacleVisually striking event
- paradeCeremonial public procession
- flourishTo grow vigorously
- displayPresentation for viewing
procession · cavalcade · trumpets · banners · heraldry · ceremonial guards · marching · regalia
Impressive supreme dignity
- splendorImpressive, striking beauty
- magnificenceImpressive beauty or scale
- opulenceShowy, abundant prosperity
- resplendenceImpressive, dazzling brilliance
stateliness · regality · nobility · augustness · impressiveness · glory · sublimity · sumptuousness
Completing academic requirements formally
- commencementAct of starting
- convocationFormal ceremonial gathering
- coronationCeremony installing a sovereign
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
investiture · procession · ordination · matriculation · induction · installation · consecration · dedication
Prescribed conduct rules
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
- decorumFitting social conduct
- dignityInnate personal worth
- proprietyCorrectness of conduct
solemnity · stiffness · courtesy · mannerliness · formalwear · dress code · ceremonial dress · black tie
Inherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- legacyWhat's passed down
- continuityUninterrupted progression or coherence
time-honored · rites · convention · preservation · ancestry · lore · perpetuation · inheritance
fanfare
Ceremonial brass announcement
display · procession · cavalcade · trumpets · banners · heraldry · ceremonial guards · marching · regalia · tableau
majesty
Impressive supreme dignity
- splendorImpressive, striking beauty
- magnificenceImpressive beauty or scale
- opulenceShowy, abundant prosperity
resplendence · stateliness · regality · nobility · augustness · impressiveness · glory · sublimity · sumptuousness · grandiosity
graduation
Completing academic requirements formally
- commencementAct of starting
- convocationFormal ceremonial gathering
- coronationCeremony installing a sovereign
inauguration · investiture · procession · ordination · matriculation · induction · installation · consecration · dedication · ritual
protocol
Prescribed conduct rules
propriety · solemnity · stiffness · courtesy · mannerliness · formalwear · dress code · ceremonial dress · black tie · regalia
heritage
Inherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- legacyWhat's passed down
continuity · time-honored · rites · convention · preservation · ancestry · lore · perpetuation · inheritance · provenance
- graduationcap and gown, diploma frame, graduation ceremony, graduate, commencement address
- processionsparade, procession, march, funeral procession, military parade
pomp and circumstanceinformality
Relaxed, unofficial tone
casualness · simplicity · unpretentiousness · unceremonious · matter-of-fact
pomp and circumstanceplainness
Unadorned, straightforward quality
austerity · modesty · understatement · spareness · minimalism
pomp and circumstancelevity
Lack of seriousness
nonchalance · breeziness · lightheartedness · irreverence · flippancy
circumstance, pompous, pompously, pompousness, pomposity, circumstantial, circumstantially, circumstances