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.
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
“Spinal Tap” sent-up self-important band documentaries like “The Last Waltz”; “The Sure Thing” attempted to liberate the teen sex comedy from raunchy “Porky’s”-style copycats.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025
As Frost pointed out, it’s not necessary to annoy people with self-important umbrage.
From Salon • Nov. 3, 2025
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
At my son’s high school graduation a week earlier, I had listened as a self-important cable news commentator droned on for thirty minutes about the future of the media in a digital world.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
