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
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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 case against the Crumbleys worked in no small part because their behavior was so egregious.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
Certain offenses are so egregious that they can result in immediate dismissal proceedings — without paychecks continuing to go out for prolonged periods.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
There are ways a concerned viewer can mitigate these effects on their own, by consulting thorough guides for turning off their TV’s most egregious tracking patterns.
From Slate • May 3, 2026
Van Dyke’s arrest signals that U.S. authorities won’t ignore allegations of egregious behavior on the platforms, even as the Trump administration has otherwise taken a largely laissez-faire approach to prediction markets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
This is a conservative estimate, since the algorithm was able to identify only the most egregious form of cheating—in which teachers systematically changed students’ answers—and not the many subtler ways a teacher might cheat.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
