as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
a self-important businessman who believed his schedule mattered more than anyone else's
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-important
His cruel caricature of the technocratic, self-important, and sometimes petty bureaucratic culture of the commission is largely accurate.
—
Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
So many of the latter comes thanks to Niecy Nash’s Nurse DiDi, who seems to take the time to see her patients as worthwhile much more often than her cohorts, the self-important Dr. Jenna James (Laurie Metcalf) and pitiful nurse Dawn (Alex Borstein).
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
The Green Mile, with its three-hours-plus run time, might as well be exhibit A for Hollywood’s myriad overlong, self-important Oscar-bait dramas.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
Unsurprisingly, the small army of senior executives with make-work jobs and self-important titles, who add little to nothing to build Hearst’s brands, apparently made it through today relatively unscathed.
—Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
So many of the latter comes thanks to Niecy Nash’s Nurse DiDi, who seems to take the time to see her patients as worthwhile much more often than her cohorts, the self-important Dr. Jenna James (Laurie Metcalf) and pitiful nurse Dawn (Alex Borstein).
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
The Green Mile, with its three-hours-plus run time, might as well be exhibit A for Hollywood’s myriad overlong, self-important Oscar-bait dramas.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 21 Feb. 2025
Unsurprisingly, the small army of senior executives with make-work jobs and self-important titles, who add little to nothing to build Hearst’s brands, apparently made it through today relatively unscathed.
—Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-important
Adjective
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For those still on Windows 10 who might be feeling rather smug at avoiding these Windows 11 issues, Windows Latest has just issued a new warning, given that its own recent updates are not faring any better.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
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His reboot has the benefit of an actor, David Corenswet, who may not have a lot of colors to work with, but whose presence is infinitely easier to take and less of a huge pile of smug than Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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In addition to Sandler, the 2025 film also sees the return of several familiar faces, including Julie Bowen as Happy’s love interest, Virginia Venit; Christopher McDonald as Shooter McGavin, Happy’s arrogant nemesis; and Ben Stiller as Hal L., the orderly from Happy’s grandmother’s nursing home.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
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Christopher McDonald plays Happy’s comically villainous, arrogant rival Shooter McGavin, maestro of the finger guns.—
Skyler Trepel,
EW.com,
25 July 2025
Adjective
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Such an obvious way to exhibit his egotistical personality.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
22 June 2025
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Responding to questions from defense lawyer Teny Geragos, Jane agreed that Combs became more apologetic and attentive, less egotistical and cold.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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Bobby Lee is proud of Borderlands, but his experience at the movie's premiere wasn't entirely pleasant.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
26 July 2025
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But that policy can also backfire – in part because many regions, such as Marathi-speaking Maharashtra in the west – are staunchly proud of their local language.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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If change doesn’t come, then my son’s death was in vain.—
Isabel Rivera,
Miami Herald,
16 July 2025
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And even if the door slams shut and the Rays actually do end up staying in Tampa Bay, the Dreamers’ effort wasn’t in vain.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 July 2025
Adjective
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The real real thing tended to be rather different: clumsy, ad hoc, vainglorious—and secret.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
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Here, too, in the Airfix models and the vainglorious LP collection is the solitary self-curation of the only child—the kid who can’t dash from his bedroom to a sibling’s, model or record in hand.—
James Wood,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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This is the worst kind of football team: a conceited but objectively mediocre squad.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
The Mercury News,
17 Nov. 2024
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Rory Kinnear steals some of the best lines as the conceited British prime minister, and Ato Essandoh, as Kate’s deputy chief, plays the ever-flustered man surrounded by extremely capable women with admirable humor, charm, and confidence.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Louis Partridge will take on Mr Darcy’s nemesis, Mr Wickham with Jamie Demetriou turning his hand to the pompous Mr Collins and Fiona Shaw as the fearsome Lady Catherine de Bourg.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
29 July 2025
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Warner also had a memorable guest arc as Eric Sanders, pompous boyfriend of Karyn Parsons' Hilary Banks, on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-important.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-important. Accessed 1 Aug. 2025.
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