superiority complex

[suh-peer-ee-awr-i-tee kom-pleks, -or-, soo-]

noun

Psychology.

1. an exaggerated feeling of superiority to others, characterized by arrogant or overbearing behavior.

superiority complex

noun

1. informal,  an inflated estimate of one's own merit, usually manifested in arrogance

Word History and Origins

Origin of superiority complex¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

She was a privileged, WASPy woman with a superiority complex and a misjudged view of her own talents.

From Salon

Mr. Metcalfe, who had originally cast Mr. Linville, said he wanted an actor who could play a much more formidable surgeon with a superiority complex.

From New York Times

This can veer into an intellectual superiority complex.

From Scientific American

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

“And what about the superiority complex that it creates in non-people of color?”

From New York Times