self-important
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-important
First recorded in 1765–75
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.
All this will be to your tastes or not, but credit Mr. McInerney with not being self-important about his material.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Pompous and self-important, it sounded as if the newspaper was really trying to say Without the Washington Post, we’re all screwed.
From Slate ● Mar. 1, 2025
Quid pro quo is his answer, but perhaps it is also the chance to feel self-important again.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2024
It’s laughable to me how self-important as an industry we can be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
I might’ve handled the clerk with a softer touch, but Emma had no patience for the self-important authority of petty bureaucrats.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
