swelled-headed

adjective

as in swellheaded

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swelled-headed
  1. smug
  2. egotistic
  3. arrogant
  4. egoistic
Adjective
  • The typically smug host appeared upset earlier this year at the Golden Globes when presenter Wanda Sykes roasted him and another nominee up for best performance in stand-up comedy on television, Ricky Gervais.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Here was my chance to get out of London, this counterfeit of death with its everywhere rage and its moribund culture and its smug population and its streets steeped in resentment and the sky pressing down like a chloroform rag.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of smug
Adjective
  • From 2005 to 2014, former The Daily Show alum played a larger-than-life, egotistical caricature of himself for Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Through remarkable archival footage and an incredible range of interviews, Monsters of God digs into the egotistical and ruthless mentalities that supported competing criminal empires and the undercover operations that dismantled them.
    — Rory Doherty, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of egotistic
Adjective
  • Using an acronym meant for minor zoning squabbles against resistance to a massive, 80 mph express train slicing through dense residential blocks is an arrogant posture that completely obscures the true nature of this unconscionable project.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Steve Buscemi as Harry’s regular fence; Tatiana Maslany as his estranged daughter; and Will Price as the arrogant, heat-packing scion of a Manhattan crime family also star.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of arrogant
Adjective
  • Three hundred high school players gather at a remote facility to compete in ruthless trials where only one will emerge as the world’s greatest and most egoistic striker.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2026
Definition of egoistic
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.

Browse Nearby Words

swelled head
swelled-headed
swelled (up)
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Cite this Entry

“Swelled-headed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swelled-headed. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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