hubris
Americannoun
noun
-
pride or arrogance
-
(in Greek tragedy) an excess of ambition, pride, etc, ultimately causing the transgressor's ruin
Other Word Forms
- hubristic adjective
- nonhubristic adjective
- unhubristic adjective
Etymology
Origin of hubris
First recorded in 1880–85, hubris is from the Greek word hýbris insolence
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.
Some of those are even remembered as the leaders who brought down great empires with their own hubris and egotism.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
An artist couldn’t have dreamed up a better monument to the hubris of overheated development in a city where so many remain unhoused.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026
Self-proclaimed experts usually attract trouble through hubris, though I’ve seen bank traders and hedge fund managers annihilate themselves with slavish beliefs in trading ranges.
From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026
"We are quite different people - very much yin and yang - but I think decisions are better made with two brains rather than one as it stops hubris," says Begg, who is London-based.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026
Eighteen years after the event, I now recognize that I suf-fered from hubris, perhaps, and an appalling innocence, certainly; but I wasn’t suicidal.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
