Definition of EGREGIOUS

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Egregious derives from the Latin word egregius, meaning "distinguished" or "eminent." In its earliest English uses, egregious was a compliment to someone who had a remarkably good quality that placed him or her eminently above others. That's how English philosopher and theorist Thomas Hobbes used it in flattering a colleague when he remarked, "I am not so egregious a mathematician as you are." Since Hobbes' day, however, the meaning of the word has become noticeably less complimentary, possibly as a result of ironic use of its original sense.

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

Make the most out of sites like Google Voice — taking the extra step might just save you from an egregious (and expensive) cyber attack. — Sarah Schreiber, Good Housekeeping, "Experts Say You Need to Think Twice Before Giving Out Your Cell Number," 21 Nov. 2016 In one particularly egregious example about midway through, Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio actually climbs atop a bar and launches into an extended explanation of the film’s plot. — Mike Scott, nola.com, "‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ movie review: Fun, but far from perfect," 27 June 2019 Tynes’s complaint details numerous grounds for alleging a rather egregious breach of contract, along with a series of malicious and bad-faith acts that may — depending on the evidence — constitute intentional torts. — David French, National Review, "The Oberlin Trial Is a Blueprint for Fighting Back," 10 June 2019 Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. — Alex Morales, Bloomberg.com, "President Sees Trade Deal If U.K. Loses Shackles: Trump Update," 3 June 2019 What might be most troubling is two of the most egregious examples were at home. — Kyle Hightower, The Seattle Times, "Pacers, Celtics enter playoff matchup looking for redemption," 13 Apr. 2019 But the president’s critics have cited the national security argument as an egregious example of presidential overreach, a theme that came up in the deliberations on Wednesday. — William Mauldin, WSJ, "Court Questions Law That Underpins Trump’s Trade Policy," 19 Dec. 2018 Admittedly, that’s my most egregious example of VC4’s absurd difficulty spikes. — Steven Strom, Ars Technica, "Valkyria Chronicles 4 review: Same as it ever was," 21 Sep. 2018 That is still five years behind the rest of the city, but the gap is no longer so egregious. — The Economist, "Black men in America are living almost as long as white men," 14 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'egregious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.