egregious

adjective

egre·​gious i-ˈgrē-jəs 

1

: very noticeable

especially : glaringly bad

egregious errors

egregious misconduct

Is there one lie that seems to be the most repeated or, in your view, is the most egregious?

—Meredith Blake

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 of egregious

• 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

An egregious example is the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was established in 2002 to bring powerful perpetrators to justice for committing the world’s worst crimes with impunity. — Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

When a fee or a tax is egregious enough, people and businesses respond. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2026

That doesn’t mean slathering on an egregious amount of lotions and serums, though — the 59-year-old actress’s mature skincare regimen is surprisingly simple. — Rylee Johnston, PEOPLE, 9 July 2026

Only Gadd received any love, however, in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category, and the shutout of both his co-star Jamie Bell and the show itself seems like one of the more egregious oversights in this year’s nominations. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 8 July 2026

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