self-important
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-important
First recorded in 1765–75
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.
Frederick was a modestly talented flutist and composer, although here, as written by Mr. Cotton and played by Stephen Hagan, he’s mostly a full-time amoral tyrant and part-time self-important fop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
All this will be to your tastes or not, but credit Mr. McInerney with not being self-important about his material.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Pompous and self-important, it sounded as if the newspaper was really trying to say Without the Washington Post, we’re all screwed.
From Slate ● Mar. 1, 2025
But there has always been a soft center to his self-important characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025
Ramon spoke in the self-important tone of one who likes being a conveyor of news.
From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry
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.
