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. )

Example Sentences

Take the grandiosity of his ascent to the role, in which CBS News put forward a manifesto of the newsroom’s guiding principles.

From Salon

In some ways the films seem to invite accusations of pretension, of reach exceeding grasp and grandeur stretched into grandiosity.

From The Wall Street Journal

She tests everyone’s limits, but her grandiosity is something to see.

From Los Angeles Times

Elordi takes over the telling of his tale, often running counter to the presentational grandiosity that a new “Frankenstein” would seem to require.

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Salon

Related Words

• grandeur
• magnificence