self-applause

noun

Definition of self-applausenext
as in self-consequence

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-applause
  1. hubris
  2. complacency
  3. smugness
  4. vanity
  5. self-satisfaction
  6. vainglory
  7. egoism
  8. self-admiration
Noun
  • Classing all of nature calls for humility and hubris, and telling one from the other may be the taxonomist’s ultimate challenge.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Leaders who pretend to know exactly what will happen may look confident at first, but this quickly becomes hubris.
    — David H. Rosmarin, Time, 30 July 2026
Definition of hubris
Noun
  • The complacency that has developed around the huge disruption of oil flows in the last five months should not be carried into the months ahead.
    — Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2026
  • But Kyne cautions against complacency, as bycatch in fisheries, expanding agricultural development and proposals to extract freshwater from northern rivers continue to threaten the nursery habitats young sawfish depend on.
    — Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of complacency
Noun
  • The demon was largely limited to one expression — smugness — and was inexplicably the only character who spoke Japanese.
    — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 10 June 2026
  • One widespread subspecies endemic to the area is the haughty Cardinal, recognized by its bright-red plumage and smugness about winning a dozen National League Central crowns.
    — Robert Annis, Midwest Living, 31 May 2026
Definition of smugness
Noun
  • The bedroom is paired with a Blue Crystallo quartzite bathroom, where the vanity matches the walk-in shower and a gold soaking tub sits next to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 14 Aug. 2026
  • For a Minimal Footprint Specs AccordionItemContainerButton When every inch counts, designers often start by lifting the vanity off the floor.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of vanity
Noun
  • The situation gets even worse once Bonnie’s concerned parents try to connect their daughter with friends by buying her a Lilypad, a child-appropriate smart tablet in frog-like casing, voiced with slappably perky self-satisfaction by Greta Lee.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026
  • After 50 minutes of self-satisfaction, the hero fades serenely into a sunset that Dudamel made miraculously mystical.
    — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
Definition of self-satisfaction
Noun
  • The conceit is saved from vainglory by the gravity Cage brings to the performance.
    — Isaac Butler, The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2023
  • That’s the mantra for wide receivers, a group long known for their vainglory.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2023
Definition of vainglory
Noun
  • Kikuko sometimes mistook Shigejiro’s cheerfulness for egoism owing to the distortions produced by her illness.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • There was too much egoism politically for each country to be all together with a unique economy, language and president.
    — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2026
Definition of egoism
Noun
  • Most of the film plays out in something close to real time, and the directors, loath to hurry scenes along, slow the action down with a technical virtuosity that sometimes tilts into self-admiration.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025
  • At first, Oliver meekly and gratefully laps up, metaphorically, the warm milk of affection that the family bestows on him between their rounds of backbiting and oblivious self-admiration.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 18 Nov. 2023
Definition of self-admiration
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

self-applauding
self-applause
self-asserting
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Self-applause.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-applause. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All