egregious
adjective
Christopher Hitchens 
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.
Examples of egregious in a Sentence
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
Andrea Williams, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025
Probably not—especially in the case of being stood up, which has always felt particularly egregious.
—Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
The defendants have pulled every procedural lever to avoid being held responsible for their egregious actions.
—Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
This becomes even more egregious when that failure is purposeful, yet not all attorneys are held equal under the law.
—Micah Kimball, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for egregious
Cite this Entry
“Egregious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egregious. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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