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
Like Muscle Man, Mixtape follows a self-important, inarticulate mediocrity on the fringe of a minor American metropolis.
—
Robert Rubsam, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
Their music provided a suitably self-important soundtrack as Great Recession-era artisanal hipsterdom faded into the careerist hopefulness of the latter Obama years, when Everlane minimalism supplanted lumberjack plaid.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
The effort was pointless and self-important and never once determined the Legislature could promote happiness by lowering the cost of living and staying out of people’s lives.
—Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
This splendid, wry satire is about a wealthy family, self-important and confident in their morality, whose blithe and bumptious existences are thrown into disarray when their father clandestinely decides to give all their money to charity, and so (in their opinions) completely destroys their lives.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Robert Rubsam, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2025
Their music provided a suitably self-important soundtrack as Great Recession-era artisanal hipsterdom faded into the careerist hopefulness of the latter Obama years, when Everlane minimalism supplanted lumberjack plaid.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025
The effort was pointless and self-important and never once determined the Legislature could promote happiness by lowering the cost of living and staying out of people’s lives.
—Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2025
This splendid, wry satire is about a wealthy family, self-important and confident in their morality, whose blithe and bumptious existences are thrown into disarray when their father clandestinely decides to give all their money to charity, and so (in their opinions) completely destroys their lives.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-important
Adjective
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But that poem is no smug cliché.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
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Marcello is looking especially smug and evil in this scene for reasons unclear.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
19 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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In the early years of his fame as a writer, Rushdie had something of a reputation for being prickly and arrogant, but Gibney’s portrait reveals a man mellowed by time and experience.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Jan. 2026
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Spock is this brilliant, arrogant, aloof-to-the-point-of-obnoxiousness genius.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
18 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But the reaction is just as vast, and even more persistent, Angela was proud to tell me about Moon Palace’s place as a node in a larger community network.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
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Now 32, the Canadian is the proud owner of 25 X Games medals, including 14 gold total and eight in the slopestyle discipline.—
Michelle Bruton,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Their efforts were not in vain.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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My vain hope today is to convince my newfound anti-Trump allies (who have disliked my years of writing against progressive policies) to view the current national nightmare as a teachable moment.—
Steven Greenhut,
Oc Register,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The attention to amusing detail is evident throughout, from the vainglorious mayor’s ample display of chest fur to the very long wintry outfit Gary De’Snake wears in snowy conditions.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Nov. 2025
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All but the most vainglorious architects imagine that their buildings will change in some small way after completion.—
Anthony Paletta,
Curbed,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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But Grande’s conceited blonde bubblehead gains in stature here as Glinda assumes statesmanlike responsibility to spread goodness in Oz, while experiencing crushing romantic disappointment that humbles her and deflates her vanity.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-important.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-important. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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