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.
Synonyms
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
Perhaps most egregious, the ACLU alleges, is that police did nothing to stop this.
—Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024
Coco Gauff also said goodbye to Brad Gilbert and despite an initial upsurge in form immediately afterwards, the technical deficiencies on serve continue to be egregious.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
So far, courts seem to have been able to shut down the most egregious efforts—hand-counting every single ballot, for instance, would have been a terrible embrace of human error.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
Do’s misdeeds were so egregious that Gerda did the impossible in Orange County: unite Democrats and Republicans.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for egregious 
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.
Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024
Coco Gauff also said goodbye to Brad Gilbert and despite an initial upsurge in form immediately afterwards, the technical deficiencies on serve continue to be egregious.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
So far, courts seem to have been able to shut down the most egregious efforts—hand-counting every single ballot, for instance, would have been a terrible embrace of human error.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
Do’s misdeeds were so egregious that Gerda did the impossible in Orange County: unite Democrats and Republicans.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for egregious
Dictionary Entries Near egregious
Cite this Entry
“Egregious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egregious. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share