grandiosity

American  

[gran-dee-os-i-tee] / ˌgræn diˈɒs ɪ ti /

noun

1. the quality of seeming impressive or important in an artificial or deliberately pompous way; pretentiousness.

   These are mere bogus revolutionaries, high on the sound of their own voices and the silly grandiosity of their claims.

2. the quality of actually being imposing or impressive.

   Through the photographer's eyes these sprawling, well-known cities become worlds of extreme beauty, elegance, and grandiosity.

3. the quality of being more complicated or elaborate than necessary.

   Hockey’s a great sport: gentlemanly and understated, with no fuss or grandiosity.

4. Psychiatry. an exaggerated belief in one’s own importance, sometimes reaching delusional proportions, as a symptom of a mental illness such as manic disorder.

   Paranoiacs tend to carry a bit of guilt with their grandiosity—a sense of some great transgression that has made them a magnet for universal hostility.

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Etymology

Origin of grandiosity

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French grandiosité, from Italian grandiosità, equivalent to grandiose ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Explanation

Grandiosity is a characteristic of being so ambitious or extravagant that you seem pretentious. The grandiosity of that new house down the street, with all of its turrets and columns, is a little ridiculous. Someone's grandiosity might come across in the way they brag about their amazing achievements, blowing them up to be even bigger — or more grand — than they actually are. Or you might betray your grandiosity by making outlandish plans that don't seem quite realistic: "Later, I realized the grandiosity of my idea to start a cookie business that would make a million dollars in the first six months." The Latin root is grandis, "big."

Example Sentences

But they are assaults on the country’s character as a republic born from distrust of monarchical grandiosity.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

But with that charm and grandiosity came a lack of boundaries and a very real tendency to put Konkle in the middle of arguments with her mother, Janet Ryan, an elder care nurse.

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

The terms all apply to him: "pattern of grandiosity," "fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance," "lacks empathy," "requires excessive admiration."

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2025

Psychiatry’s diagnostic manual, the DSM-5, outlines nine behavioral patterns involving grandiosity, empathy, and a person’s need for admiration, of which a patient must meet at least five for a formal diagnosis of NPD.

From Slate • Aug. 5, 2024

Such grandiose declarations were commonplace during Ceaujescu’s reign, for his master plan—to create a nation worthy of the New Socialist Man—was an exercise in grandiosity.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

• grandeur
• magnificence