as in bumptious
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Recent Examples of self-dramatizing
Like Frey, Lowell was a self-dramatizing fraudster, taking elements of her real life and grandly embellishing them.
—
Michael Waters, New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2026
The Hemingway in the piece is a comic figure—self-dramatizing, repetitive, marooned within his own monologues, and sometimes ridiculously affected.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
In a head-turning breakout performance, Tonatiuh (seen recently in Carry-On) can flip from proud to humiliated, self-dramatizing to selfless, often within a single line reading.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Michael Waters, New Yorker, 3 Jan. 2026
The Hemingway in the piece is a comic figure—self-dramatizing, repetitive, marooned within his own monologues, and sometimes ridiculously affected.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
In a head-turning breakout performance, Tonatiuh (seen recently in Carry-On) can flip from proud to humiliated, self-dramatizing to selfless, often within a single line reading.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-dramatizing
Adjective
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And it’s been a very bumptious relationship ever since.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2026
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In public, Newsom speaks often and openly about his errors, fortifying his image as a bumptious, slightly hapless victim of his own enthusiasms.—
Nathan Heller,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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She’s been warning us since 1818 that vainglorious innovators will destroy the earth.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
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The vainglorious demands of one man who can’t read a map? Concerned leaders in both parties should explain to the citizens of the United States how much peril Trump is courting.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Notoriously arrogant comedy legend Kent Romero might first bring to mind Chevy Chase for readers, perhaps even 1980s stars like Judge Reinhold, but with his Venezuelan-American background, he was also inspired by real-life groundbreakers like Freddie Prinze.—
Lee Kelly,
PEOPLE,
12 Apr. 2026
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As the sun and Jupiter clash, you’re cosmically protected, but arrogant behavior won’t get a pass.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Avoid Burying Praise in Negatives To avoid making children too conceited, parents might bury praise in the midst of negatives.—
Wayne Parker,
Parents,
8 Mar. 2026
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The Pitt definitely feels like the type of workplace where conceited doctors-in-training are pretty much guaranteed to quickly get knocked down a peg.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The social enrichment, the egotistical component?—
The Editors,
Robb Report,
14 Mar. 2026
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Please don’t take this in an egotistical way.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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That sweet spot between professionalism, entertainment and high-and-mighty disapproval?—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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Lots of high-and-mighty people populate Tyrrell’s recollections.—
John Fund,
National Review,
26 Nov. 2023
Adjective
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As Wilson, Jenny Ashman is suitably snide and supercilious, a great comic villain.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
29 Jan. 2026
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And now the supercilious Ivy League twits try to dodge the consequences of their woke follies.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
24 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-dramatizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-dramatizing. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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