egregious

adjective

egre·​gious i-ˈgrē-jəs 

1

: conspicuous

especially : conspicuously bad : flagrant

egregious errors

egregious padding of the evidence

—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

• blatant
• conspicuous
• flagrant
• glaring
• gross
• obvious
• patent
• pronounced
• rank
• striking

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The problem is, this omission was particularly egregious since the city is majority Black. —Jasmine Browley, Essence, 14 Aug. 2024

Audacy’s decision is even more egregious given that this is a critical election year. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 12 Aug. 2024

That includes embedding democratic decision-making processes at every level, refusing to hand hosting rights for the Games to egregious human-rights violators, and making sure athletes receive a bigger slice of the Olympic money pie. —Jules Boykoff, TIME, 8 Aug. 2024

That rule has caused cases to be thrown out even when inmates allege egregious abuse or misconduct. —Richard A. Webster, ProPublica, 25 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin egregius, from e- + greg-, grex herd — more at gregarious

First Known Use

circa 1534, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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Kids 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