egregious
Americanadjective
-
extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant.
an egregious mistake; an egregious liar.
- Synonyms:
- shocking, notorious, outrageous, gross
- Antonyms:
- unnoticeable, minor, moderate, tolerable
-
Archaic. distinguished or eminent.
adjective
-
outstandingly bad; flagrant
an egregious lie
-
archaic distinguished; eminent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of egregious
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin ēgregius “preeminent, outstanding,” equivalent to ē- + greg-, stem of grēx “flock” + -ius adjective suffix; see e- 1, -ous
Explanation
Something that is egregious stands out, but not in a good way — it means "really bad or offensive." If you make an egregious error during a championship soccer match, your coach might bench you for the rest of the game. An egregious error is so bad that it might not be forgivable. Some synonyms are appalling and intolerable. The word has made a 180-degree turn from its original sense in Latin, when it meant "exceptionally good." Word historians have speculated that the negative usage was originally meant to be ironic, but it is the only sense that has survived. Be careful not to use it to mean "outstanding," since no one wants to be called egregious.
Vocabulary lists containing egregious
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act would make US regulators require sites to age-check their users.
From BBC • Jan. 4, 2023
In 2016, the Journal Sentinel revealed that Milwaukee Municipal Court keeps a list, called "Egregious Defendants," of landlords with delinquent fines for code violations.
From Salon • Nov. 17, 2022
Egregious violations could lead to parties being removed from the document, LaChanze said.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 23, 2021
Egregious examples of price increases, like those on Mylan’s EpiPen and older drugs sold by Valeant Pharmaceuticals, prompted congressional hearings and investigations.
From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2016
Egregious Signor Enrico, You must have already heard of the destruction of Messina.
From Castellinaria and Other Sicilian Diversions by Jones, Henry Festing
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
