noun
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an inflated sense of self-importance or superiority; self-centredness
-
excessive reference to oneself
Related Words
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
- antiegotism noun
Etymology
Origin of egotism
First recorded in 1705–15; Latin ego ego + -ism; -t- perhaps after despotism, idiotism 2
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.
Yet a viewer isn’t left with the sense that Reubens did that out of greed or egotism.
From Salon • Dec. 17, 2025
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
The single-actor format and clever use of camerawork give visual expression to the novel’s themes of overweening egotism and existential dread.
From New York Times • Feb. 16, 2024
Something was making him nibble at the edge of stale ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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.
