self-aggrandizing

adjective

self-ag·​gran·​diz·​ing ˌself-ə-ˈgran-ˌdī-ziŋ 

also -ˈa-grən-

: acting or intended to enhance one's power, wealth, position, or reputation

… staggeringly self-aggrandizing greed and theft …

—William J. Astore

… a self-aggrandizing cad bent on gathering for himself whatever spoils he can amass from the public coffers.

—Paul Beckett

especially : boastful often in disregard of the truth

self-aggrandizing remarks

… the skill of talking about yourself in a natural way without coming off as a self-aggrandizing braggart.

—Jim Murray

… whose dishonest, self-aggrandizing memoirs adroitly snookered the public …

—Frank Rich

We hear of the self-aggrandizing fantasies which he told his sisters, as tales to amuse them.

—Robert Penn Warren

… was publicly suspended with no pay for six months after it emerged that he repeatedly told a self-aggrandizing, false story about being aboard a military helicopter hit by an RPG over Iraq.

—Kieran Corcoran and Christopher Brennan

self-aggrandizement

ˌself-ə-ˈgran-dəz-mənt, 

-ˌdīz- 

also -ˌa-grən-ˈdīz-

noun

plural self-aggrandizements

… the construction of monumental buildings for self-aggrandizement.

—Beatrice Forbes Manz

A native reticence, almost an aversion to anything that might be construed as boasting or self-aggrandizement, is paired with innate optimism, loyalty and a quiet determination.

—Steven Winn

Examples of self-aggrandizing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is, truly, a totally shameless and self-aggrandizing effort on the part of Mayor Trantalis and Commissioner Glassman. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026

The author characterizes Huntington Beach itself as an inherently self-aggrandizing, wealthy coastal enclave unrepresentative of broader California concerns, dismissing the notion that this affluent beach town should serve as a model for statewide governance or the state’s future direction. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

As well as lambasting Shell, this often self-aggrandizing filing out in the low-tech Santa Monica Courthouse has innocuous cameos by the likes of Ari Emanuel and Jay Penske, among others. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026

Because, for all its self-aggrandizing mythology, the modern studio system is just a labor force, and like any workplace, when its employees cease doing their jobs, that’s when the product stops coming. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Feb. 2026

This self-aggrandizing aria found a large audience, selling more than 100,000 copies in its first week and topping the charts on Amazon. —Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026

Of course, Epstein was a self-aggrandizing criminal. —Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2025

This debut wasn’t a self-aggrandizing spectacle. —David Lyman, Cincinnati Enquirer, 7 Oct. 2025

Not for the praise, not for self-aggrandizing satisfaction of a dish made perfectly. —Amiel Stanek, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-aggrandizing

• actualizing
• antagonizing
• apologising
• apologizing
• capitalizing
• categorizing
• characterizing
• commercializing
• conceptualizing
• criminalizing
• decentralizing
• decolorizing