as in vanity
an often unjustified feeling of being pleased with oneself or with one's situation or achievements
so many of the Web site's self-portraits give the impression of clueless self-satisfaction
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Recent Examples of self-satisfaction
After a precise drone and cruise missile successfully hit Saudi Arabia’s vital oil infrastructure in September 2019, Russia could hardly conceal its delight and self-satisfaction.
—
Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Trump himself personifies stupidity’s essential feature — self-satisfaction, an inability to recognize the flaws in your thinking.
—David Brooks, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2025
Just as there’s no dramatic build-up to Maria landing the part, there’s no romance to the process of acting it, nor the slightest whiff of self-satisfaction in recreating iconic scenes.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 21 Mar. 2025
Corporate leaders will be called upon to overcome self-satisfaction with progress made in the advancement of gender parity for women, especially those in senior and middle management.
—Michael Peregrine, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Megalopolis posits a world of clueless liberal self-satisfaction, missing every point of contemporary alertness to ongoing lawfare and sedition.
—Armond White, National Review, 4 Oct. 2024
Nothing was off-limits in Mad, a newsstand stalwart that would reach peak annual sales in the 1970s of 2.5 million issues by delivering belly laughs and self-satisfaction to America’s class clowns through cartoons, parodies, sarcastic characters and an unending stream of gross-out gags.
—Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Sep. 2024
There was more than a whiff of self-satisfaction from the Kremlin on Wednesday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Mongolia at the start of the week went without a hitch — despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant hanging over the visit.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2024
The potential rewards for their work had always been self-satisfaction, a few tip-jar-sized donations, and maybe some nice emails.
—Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 17 May 2024
Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Trump himself personifies stupidity’s essential feature — self-satisfaction, an inability to recognize the flaws in your thinking.
—David Brooks, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2025
Just as there’s no dramatic build-up to Maria landing the part, there’s no romance to the process of acting it, nor the slightest whiff of self-satisfaction in recreating iconic scenes.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 21 Mar. 2025
Corporate leaders will be called upon to overcome self-satisfaction with progress made in the advancement of gender parity for women, especially those in senior and middle management.
—Michael Peregrine, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Megalopolis posits a world of clueless liberal self-satisfaction, missing every point of contemporary alertness to ongoing lawfare and sedition.
—Armond White, National Review, 4 Oct. 2024
Nothing was off-limits in Mad, a newsstand stalwart that would reach peak annual sales in the 1970s of 2.5 million issues by delivering belly laughs and self-satisfaction to America’s class clowns through cartoons, parodies, sarcastic characters and an unending stream of gross-out gags.
—Patrick Sauer, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Sep. 2024
There was more than a whiff of self-satisfaction from the Kremlin on Wednesday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Mongolia at the start of the week went without a hitch — despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant hanging over the visit.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2024
The potential rewards for their work had always been self-satisfaction, a few tip-jar-sized donations, and maybe some nice emails.
—Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 17 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-satisfaction
Noun
-
In the owner’s en suite, Heesen replaced one of the original dual toilets with a vanity area.—
Julia Zaltzman,
Robb Report,
27 Oct. 2025
-
At the same time, invisibility has come as a relief, insofar as my vanity always kept company with self-consciousness and self-flagellation.—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Bonitzer twists those facts into a story of clashing egos and huge commissions, with André doing his best to broker a sale while respecting the wishes of the paintings’ rightful heirs, as well of those of his money-hungry employer.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Milei caters masterfully to Trump’s ego and will be president even if his party loses seats in Argentina’s legislature.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Following religious conviction, pride in one's homeland and confidence in its future is the sentiment that very well might induce the most people to get married and have children.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
But the major collections were looking inward, building on a rich heritage with confidence and pride that hasn’t been the norm in Saudi for generations.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This propensity for mental acrobatics, alongside his immense arrogance, was how Epstein rationalized his crimes to himself.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Using him comes across as arrogance.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-satisfaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-satisfaction. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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