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megalomania

[meg-uh-loh-mey-nee-uh]
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noun
  1. Psychiatry. a symptom of mental illness marked by delusions of greatness, wealth, etc.
  2. an obsession with doing extravagant or grand things.
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Origin of megalomania

First recorded in 1885–90; megalo- + -mania
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for megalomania

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The old leonine fellow was transfigured, as though by megalomania.

    Sacrifice

    Stephen French Whitman

  • But does that sort of megalomania express a genuine self-confidence?

  • For, if I could guess at the signs at all, it was megalomania.

    A Case in Camera

    Oliver Onions

  • His comrades claimed that he was suffering from megalomania.

    A Little Garrison

    Fritz von der Kyrburg

  • But the megalomania of the Teutons has only been one of the contributory causes.

British Dictionary definitions for megalomania

megalomania

noun
  1. a mental illness characterized by delusions of grandeur, power, wealth, etc
  2. informal a lust or craving for power
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Derived Formsmegalomaniac, adjective, nounmegalomaniacal (ˌmɛɡələʊməˈnaɪəkəl), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for megalomania

n.

"delusions of greatness," 1866, from French mégalomanie; see megalo- + mania "madness."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
megalomania in Medicine

megalomania

(mĕg′ə-lō-mā′nē-ə, -mān′yə)
n.
  1. A psychopathological condition in which delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence predominate.
  2. An obsession with grandiose or extravagant things or actions.
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Related formsmeg′a•lo•ma′ni•ac′ n.meg′a•lo•ma•ni′a•cal (-mə-nī′ə-kəl) null adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
megalomania in Culture

megalomania

[(meg-uh-loh-may-nee-uh)]

Delusions of grandeur; an extreme form of egotism. Adolf Hitler is generally considered to have been a megalomaniac.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.