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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Recent Examples of self-important
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
Finally, someone is standing up and holding the fat, middle-aged White reporter accountable, and there’s nobody in the world that dislikes it less to be held accountable than the fat, middle-aged, White, self-important columnist at a newspaper.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 28 Aug. 2024
The self-important Brackman often was the butt of his colleagues’ jokes.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Nov. 2024
Balmy does prove to be slightly sinister and fully absurd, in the way of self-important cult leaders everywhere, and Le Moulin even more so.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Caitlin Huston, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2024
Finally, someone is standing up and holding the fat, middle-aged White reporter accountable, and there’s nobody in the world that dislikes it less to be held accountable than the fat, middle-aged, White, self-important columnist at a newspaper.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 28 Aug. 2024
The self-important Brackman often was the butt of his colleagues’ jokes.
—Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Nov. 2024
Balmy does prove to be slightly sinister and fully absurd, in the way of self-important cult leaders everywhere, and Le Moulin even more so.
—Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-important
Adjective
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To his critics, Jost’s smug humor felt noticeably anachronistic at a time when the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements were calling for a greater awareness of society’s deep inequalities, and for ostensibly liberal institutions to do better.—
Michael Tedder,
The Atlantic,
17 May 2025
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The series has been characterized by smug antics in defeat.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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Richard was known for being outspoken, if not arrogant, consistently rubbing his Tagi tribe the wrong way and offending some of them with his blatant display of nudity on the island.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
27 May 2025
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Multiple people described him to me as unpopular and arrogant.—
Amanda Chicago Lewis,
Harpers Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Sid Justice, though competent in other matches, is given few opportunities to prove himself as a rising star against the notoriously egotistical Hogan.—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
21 Apr. 2025
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And for any fan of the show — and Wilson’s over-the-top, egotistical Dwight — the lyrics might not be a total surprise.—
Victoria Edel,
People.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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They were thanked for coming by loyal Canadians, clearly proud of their head of state.—
Simon Perry,
People.com,
27 May 2025
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At Ferrara, which has a long, proud history of making candy in Chicago, the business outlook is still positive, according to Greg Guidotti, chief marketing officer.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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While the issue was addressed before in vain, Macron hinted that it could be considered this time around.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
23 May 2025
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Her very intimate use of the camera added by a relentless patience gives the film a meditational feeling that ultimately works beyond mere and vain life philosophy.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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Too many American leaders seem more focused on the vainglorious posturing that too often leads to armed conflict.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 May 2025
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Hwang’s vainglorious campaign underscores his later experience producing his next play, Face Value, and facing the death of his father, Henry Yuan Hwang (HYH), a patriotic immigrant and founder of Far East National Bank.—
Armond White,
National Review,
21 May 2025
Adjective
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This is the worst kind of football team: a conceited but objectively mediocre squad.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
The Mercury News,
17 Nov. 2024
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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
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The film will follow a pompous food critic (Roth) and the earnest son-of-a-chef (Fernández) who must outcook, outrun, and outwit a ruthless queen-pin (Higareda Howes) in order to save the son’s family restaurant – and themselves.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
7 May 2025
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Jain didn’t barge onto the scene with the pompous bravado as many others do.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-important.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-important. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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