as in affectation
the quality or state of appearing or trying to appear more important or more valuable than is the case
I'd rather be thought of as a person with simple integrity, not a person given to grandiosity and exaggeration
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grandiosity
Swedish singer-composer Anna von Hausswolff, whose cathedral melodies, intense vocals and doom-laden dirges share much in common with Nordic heavy-metal culture, specializes in mystery and grandiosity.
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Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026
Denzel Washington’s shawls in Gladiator II were an extension of the aspiring politician’s grandiosity.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025
Narcissism is defined by long-standing patterns of grandiosity, an extreme need for attention, and fantasies of unlimited brilliance.
—Big Think, 27 Nov. 2025
After all, the first informs the second in ways that are intellectually satisfying to dig into; the latter lends itself to grandiosity.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
All brittleness and bile in the hands of Diego Luna, Valentín’s quiet righteousness rubs up against his cellmate’s grandiosity in all the wrong ways — at first.
—Blythe Marks, Them., 17 Oct. 2025
Ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner are depicted trying to reach Ye through his fog of grandiosity, to no avail.
—Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 10 Oct. 2025
But if blithe grandiosity was Stein’s armor, there was a chink in it.
—Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Related Articles Want to tap into the grandiosity of it all through your makeup looks, in a way that pays homage to the elegance and glam of a showgirl’s life while staying true to today’s top beauty trends?
—Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grandiosity
Noun
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Now, though levees may not exactly be back, royal affectations and the disputes that go with them are.—
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That’s probably an affectation.—
Noun
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Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach take turns transforming into floating marketplaces — docks converted to catwalks, hulls polished to reflective arrogance, sales reps who can quote fuel burn like yacht owners care about costs.—
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College football is awash in problems, including the Big Ten’s unrivaled arrogance, and its never-ending list of demands that would make Notre Dame blush.—
Noun
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His pretensions—riding around in a grand coach and continuing the weekly levees—as well as his administration’s notorious effort to enforce deference in the 1798 Sedition Act, fell flat.—
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But the soul of the city lies in the West Kowloon Cultural District, where the M+ museum offers art without velvet-rope pretension.—
Noun
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Posing on top of an antique vanity and inside a wooden cabinet, Bieber cycled through a parade of sheer lace, see-through mesh, and strappy designs in shades of red, black, pink, and cream.—
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Store liquids—such as lotion, makeup, perfumes, and skincare—on a tray to protect your vanity table or bathroom cabinet.—
Noun
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This week’s truncating of the schedule removed whatever pretense remained that Kennedy’s HHS would respect the scientific process for making decisions about vaccines even when that process was dominated by allies who had already taken action to roll back recommendations.—
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But gone are the days when those books were displayed to show off the intellect and interests of their owners — and with it, the pretense, at least, that their owners had read them.—
Cite this Entry
“Grandiosity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grandiosity. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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