as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
a self-important businessman who believed his schedule mattered more than anyone else's
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
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
-
In Superman, Bennett steps into the shoes of Steve Lombard, the Daily Planet's smug sports reporter.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
28 June 2025
-
One of Ferrell’s biggest and best movies was this hilarious racing spoof, which followed the rise and fall and rise of a smug champion racer, his complicated friendship with best pal and fellow racer John C. Reilly, and his rivalry with an effete, snotty Frenchman played by Sacha Baron Cohen.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
Her larger-than-life ego and past as a shaman make Player 044 come off as arrogant and selfish, getting under just about everyone's skin.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
4 July 2025
-
In 2022, Ackles joined the cast of Prime Video's The Boys as arrogant superhero Soldier Boy.—
Brianne Tracy,
People.com,
4 July 2025
Adjective
-
Such an obvious way to exhibit his egotistical personality.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
22 June 2025
-
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
-
Our more than 18,000 Bombardier employees are proud to welcome this new, important customer to our family.—
Doug Gollan,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
But despite everything, we were driven by passion and the desire to achieve results, and many Italians who lived there as immigrants were proud of us.—
James Horncastle,
New York Times,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 June 2025
-
Some men smeared cedar sap on their faces in a vain effort to repel mosquitoes and deerflies.—
/ CBS News,
CBS News,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
Donald Trump’s vainglorious birthday parade masquerading as a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army may get drenched in a rainy DC this Flag Day, but the financial sun is shining a bit brighter for some suffering Hollywood vendors.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
14 June 2025
-
Not to the founders — three vainglorious men who had been born with the world in their hands and their futures glittering like gold coins waiting to be spent — but to the people of Hartford.—
Kimberlee Speakman,
People.com,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
This is the worst kind of football team: a conceited but objectively mediocre squad.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
The Mercury News,
17 Nov. 2024
-
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
-
And more than any other animal, cats represented to her its moral antithesis: lazy, pompous, interested only in themselves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 June 2025
-
At 11:30, as the simultaneously pompous and obsequious gate agent announces the passengers above gold status, the bit, already tilting toward insanity, leaves any attempt to portray a real airport behind and dives fully into Alice in Wonderland–level surrealism.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-important.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-important. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share