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

In Mississippi, where voter suppression was especially egregious, registration jumped fromunder 7% in 1965 to 59% by 1968. —Essence, 6 Aug. 2025

Until Texas’ recent push, the most egregious gerrymander proposed in the 2020 redistricting cycle was Maryland’s 2022 map, which sought to give all eight of the state’s districts to Democrats — even when a third of the state voted Republican in 2020. —Daniel Brennan, Baltimore Sun, 6 Aug. 2025

That is a particularly egregious example of how the Trump Administration has been gratuitously cruel to the Sudanese. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2025

Chisholm getting thrown out on the bases might be the most egregious of the team’s mental mistakes this season. —Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 2 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