noun
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an inflated sense of self-importance or superiority; self-centredness
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excessive reference to oneself
Synonym Usage
Egotism, egoism refer to preoccupation with one's ego or self. Egotism is the common word for obtrusive and excessive reference to and emphasis upon oneself and one's own importance: His egotism alienated all his friends. Egoism, a less common word, is used especially in philosophy, ethics, or metaphysics, where it emphasizes the importance of or preoccupation with self in relation to other things: sufficient egoism to understand one's central place in the universe. See also pride.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of egotism
First recorded in 1705–15; Latin ego ego + -ism; -t- perhaps after despotism, idiotism 2
Explanation
If you think that there's nothing better than being you, then you're full of egotism, a word for an inflated sense of self-importance. Most people believe it's good to have positive feelings about yourself and healthy self-esteem. But some people feel a little too good about themselves, and that's called egotism. People suffering from egotism think the world revolves around them. They're arrogant, cocky, overconfident, selfish, and generally think they're better than other people. And having an ego of that size is generally not a good thing.
Vocabulary lists containing egotism
"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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"Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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"Democracy in America, Vol. 1" by Alexis de Tocqueville, Chapters 16–17
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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.
You can take the measure of Charles Dickens’s egotism by looking at the names he gave his children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
He is intensely competitive but without any of the suffocating self-seriousness or egotism of so many superstars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2024
Navalny was a social-media phenomenon, a charismatic speaker with some of the egotism of a natural-born leader.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2024
Wells writes that “it is part of the excessive egotism of the human animal that the bare idea of its extinction seems incredible to it.”
From Salon ● Oct. 8, 2023
It is pure egotism, a selfishness to conquer all.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
