egotistical

adjective

ego·​tis·​ti·​cal ˌē-gə-ˈti-sti-kəl How to pronounce egotistical (audio)
 also  ˌe-
variants or less commonly egotistic
ˌē-gə-ˈti-stik How to pronounce egotistical (audio)
 also  ˌe-
: characterized by egotism : having, showing, or arising from an exaggerated sense of self-importance
an egotistical person/attitude/manner
… a man so egotistical … that he likened himself to Shakespeare, Milton and Byron …David Shaw
His celebrity and wealth have allowed him to indulge his whims to such an extent that the most egotistical Roman emperors, by comparison, seem models of psychological stability.Theodore Dalrymple
… each individual depends upon their friends to validate their own egotistical world view.Randall Collins
Hobson's book is a small but rare thing: a memoir that is not egotistical.Liesl Schillinger
… a difficult personality prompts analysts to describe him as having a prickly mosaic of characteristics: dominant, strong-willed, powerful, egotistic, … most of all arrogant.Stephen S. Hall
egotistically adverb
behaving arrogantly and egotistically
He had no objection to honey, he said …, but he protested against the overweening assumptions of bees. … If every confectioner went buzzing about the world banging against everything that came in his way and egotistically calling upon everybody to take notice that he was going to his work and must not be interrupted, the world would be quite an unsupportable place. Charles Dickens

Examples of egotistical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Both were egotistical populists who couldn't accept that their time on the stage had expired. Dave315 2h A key difference is their ages. Amity Shlaes, National Review, 27 Oct. 2023 However, crossing the line from ego-aware to ‘egotistical’ (i.e., an inflated ego that is solely focused on achieving one’s own wants and needs) can be more self-damaging than self-protective. Mark Travers, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023 But Loretta and Ben are just two egotistical thespians among many. Alison Herman, Variety, 8 Aug. 2023 In the story, an insecure actress, played by Lee Ha-nee, decides to retire from her less-than-stellar acting career and marry her Prince Charming, an egotistical rich man, played outlandishly by Lee Sun-kyun. Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 17 July 2023 As the two-and-a-half–minute trailer shows, Dracula (Nicolas Cage), is pretty annoying and egotistical. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2023 When her former boss wakes up months later demanding to resume his duties, Sam is tasked with supervising this egotistical expert. Marc Berman, Forbes, 19 May 2021 Because his patter doesn’t entertain you and interferes with your enlightenment, as well as other members of the class, let those who are willing to tolerate his blather continue his Bible study and business course, while the rest of you move forward with another, less egotistical instructor. Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 5 Apr. 2021 This egotistical use of lien payers funds is inappropriate. baltimoresun.com, 16 Dec. 2020 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'egotistical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

egotistical from egotist + -ical; egotistic from egotist + -ic entry 1

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of egotistical was in 1797

Dictionary Entries Near egotistical

Cite this Entry

“Egotistical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egotistical. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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