egregious
adjective
egre·gious
i-ˈgrē-jəs 
1
: conspicuous
especially
: conspicuously bad : flagrant
egregious errors
egregious padding of the evidence —
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens 2
archaic
: distinguished
egregiously
adverb
egregiousness
noun
Did you know?
Egregious comes from a Latin word meaning "distinguished" or "eminent." It was once a compliment to someone who had a remarkably good quality that placed him or her above others. Today, the meaning of the word is noticeably less complimentary, possibly as a result of ironic use of its original sense.
Examples of egregious in a Sentence
… the public perception is that too many corporate executives have committed egregious breaches of trust by cooking the books, shading the truth, and enriching themselves with huge stock-option profits while shareholders suffered breathtaking losses.
—John A. Byrne et al., Business Week, 6 May 2002
History cannot be rewritten, but some of its more egregious errors can be corrected—at least in part, at least symbolically. … Or so assume a growing number of human-rights advocates.
—Ellis Cose, Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2001
an egregious example of political bias
the student's theme was marred by a number of egregious errors in spelling
John A. Byrne et al., Business Week, 6 May 2002
History cannot be rewritten, but some of its more egregious errors can be corrected—at least in part, at least symbolically. … Or so assume a growing number of human-rights advocates.
—Ellis Cose, Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2001
an egregious example of political bias
the student's theme was marred by a number of egregious errors in spelling
Recent Examples on the Web
In two particularly egregious examples involving baby products described to CNBC, Amazon sent customers used diapers and a chiller with someone else’s rotten breastmilk inside.
—Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 21 June 2025
And one West Coast sheriff is now pondering sending the most egregious victims a bill.
—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025
Sun Pharma’s transgressions were so egregious that the Food and Drug Administration imposed one of the government’s harshest penalties: banning the factory from exporting drugs to the United States.
—Debbie Cenziper, CNN Money, 20 June 2025
Above all, what seems especially egregious to me is that Disney may have known that Patton had prior harassment complaints made against him on other productions but hired him anyway.
—Legal Entertainment, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for egregious
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Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 21 June 2025
And one West Coast sheriff is now pondering sending the most egregious victims a bill.
—Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025
Sun Pharma’s transgressions were so egregious that the Food and Drug Administration imposed one of the government’s harshest penalties: banning the factory from exporting drugs to the United States.
—Debbie Cenziper, CNN Money, 20 June 2025
Above all, what seems especially egregious to me is that Disney may have known that Patton had prior harassment complaints made against him on other productions but hired him anyway.
—Legal Entertainment, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for egregious
Cite this Entry
“Egregious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egregious. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
egregious
adjective
egre·gious
i-ˈgrē-jəs
: very noticeable
especially
: glaringly bad
egregious errors
egregiously
adverb
egregiousness
noun
Legal Definition
egregious
adjective
egre·gious
i-ˈgrē-jəs
: extremely and conspicuously bad
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