megalomania
Americannoun
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Psychiatry. a symptom of mental illness marked by delusions of greatness, wealth, etc.
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an obsession with doing extravagant or grand things.
noun
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a mental illness characterized by delusions of grandeur, power, wealth, etc
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informal a lust or craving for power
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of megalomania
Explanation
Megalomania is a crazy hunger for power and wealth, and a passion for grand schemes. Comic book villains often suffer from megalomania. Their plans are thwarted only by superheroes. Megalomania comes from the Greek megas ("great") and mania ("madness"). It is a madness of greatness, but not a great kind of madness! Megalomaniacs in history include Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon Bonaparte. People with megalomania tend to exaggerate their virtues and never see their faults.
Vocabulary lists containing megalomania
Ender's Game
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It's Madness!: Mania
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 36
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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.
The latter is the hangover from a peripatetic childhood defined and dominated by his charismatic father, a once-idealistic scholar whose dreams of a Arab utopia soured into authoritarian megalomania.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
The story relates Laxman’s making as a demagogue, dwelling on the years in which he used his extended family as a kind of training ground for his megalomania.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
Some superstars hide their megalomania under humility; Williams shields his tenderness with jokes about being a narcissist, only exposing his wounds in his muscular, vulnerable lyrics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2024
He added: “Ultimately I knew it was Cannes’ setting — more than a match for his own megalomania — that would convince him to come.”
From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2024
The mirage of glory not only obscures the material horror of war, but it conduces to a certain impatience of ideas which are not coloured by the prevalent megalomania of idealism.
From The Sacred Egoism of Sinn Féin by Boyd, Ernest Augustus
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.
