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?

Egregious comes from a Latin word meaning "distinguished" or "eminent." It was once a compliment to someone who had a remarkably good quality that placed him or her above others. Today, the meaning of the word is noticeably less complimentary, possibly as a result of ironic use of its original sense.

Synonyms

• blatant
• conspicuous
• flagrant
• glaring
• gross
• obvious
• patent
• pronounced
• rank
• striking

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

Images: Mia Sato/The Verge The image generator not being able to conceive of Asian people standing next to white people is egregious. —Mia Sato, The Verge, 3 Apr. 2024

This is a very egregious and rare, rare set of facts. —Gina Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, 14 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin egregius, from e- + greg-, grex herd — more at gregarious

First Known Use

circa 1534, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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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