superiority complex
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of superiority complex
First recorded in 1920–25
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How does superiority-complex compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
This can veer into an intellectual superiority complex.
From Scientific American • May 28, 2022
The dire conditions of orangutans and other great apes in the wild are a testament to a failure of human stewardship of our planet, much to the contrary of the human superiority complex.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2022
It’s not always easy living in the shadow of the nation’s second-largest media market, and when it comes to how they view L.A., some San Diegans seem to have a simultaneous inferiority and superiority complex.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2021
“San Francisco has a superiority complex, but Miami has an inferiority complex.”
From New York Times • Jan. 29, 2021
He was a simple man who had no inferiority complex about his lack of education and, even more amazing, no superiority complex because he had succeeded despite that lack.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
