egregious

adjective

egre·​gious i-ˈgrē-jəs 

1

: conspicuous

especially : conspicuously bad : flagrant

egregious errors

egregious padding of the evidence

—Christopher Hitchens

2

archaic : distinguished

egregiously adverb

egregiousness noun

Did you know?

Some words originally used for animals that gather in flocks have been herded into use for people, too. The Latin word grex means “flock,” “herd,” or “group,” and is the root of several English words, including gregarious, which originally meant “tending to live in a flock, herd, or community rather than alone” but has become a synonym for “sociable,” and egregious. The Latin forebear of egregious, egregius, literally meant “out of the herd” but was used figuratively to mean “outstanding in one’s field.” Egregious entered English in the 16th century with that same, now-obsolete meaning, but over time gained a sense meaning “conspicuously bad” or “flagrant,” possibly as a result of ironic use of its original sense.

Synonyms

• blatant
• obvious
• glaring
• gross

Examples of egregious in a Sentence

… the public perception is that too many corporate executives have committed egregious breaches of trust by cooking the books, shading the truth, and enriching themselves with huge stock-option profits while shareholders suffered breathtaking losses. —John A. Byrne et al., Business Week, 6 May 2002

History cannot be rewritten, but some of its more egregious errors can be corrected—at least in part, at least symbolically.  … Or so assume a growing number of human-rights advocates. —Ellis Cose, Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2001

an egregious example of political bias

the student's theme was marred by a number of egregious errors in spelling

Recent Examples on the Web

By the mid-1850s, electoral fraud by pro-slavery advocates was particularly egregious in the Kansas territory. —Time, 5 Sep. 2025

There have been more egregious Hollywood glow-ups than that of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring movies, but how many of those have also been so insidiously appealing? —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025

This egregious act is reprehensible and never should have occurred. —Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Indeed, Fitzgerald had a duty to adhere to the university’s policy on harassment and inappropriate conduct, and most people would say that also means creating the kind of climate where egregious violations of that policy don’t happen. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin egregius, from e- + greg-, grex herd — more at gregarious

First Known Use

circa 1550, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for egregious

• aegis

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Kids Definition

egregious

adjective

egre·​gious i-ˈgrē-jəs 

: very noticeable

especially : glaringly bad

egregious errors

egregiously adverb

egregiousness noun

Legal Definition

egregious

adjective

egre·​gious i-ˈgrē-jəs 

: extremely and conspicuously bad