egregious
adjective
Meredith Blake Christopher Hitchens 
Did you know?
Some words originally used for animals that gather in flocks have been herded into use for people, too. The Latin word grex means “flock,” “herd,” or “group,” and is the root of several English words, including gregarious, which originally meant “tending to live in a flock, herd, or community rather than alone” but has become a synonym for “sociable,” and egregious. The Latin forebear of egregious, egregius, literally meant “out of the herd” but was used figuratively to mean “outstanding in one’s field.” Egregious entered English in the 16th century with that same, now-obsolete meaning, but over time gained a sense meaning “conspicuously bad” or “flagrant,” possibly as a result of ironic use of its original sense.
Examples of egregious in a Sentence
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
Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 11 June 2026
Kochen’s defense attorneys argued that the magnitude of their client’s crime was not nearly as egregious as that of hundreds of other Medicare fraud felons in South Florida, which is recognized as the healthcare-fraud capital of the United States.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 10 June 2026
In more egregious cases, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), sheds, and other structures may encroach on property line boundaries, requiring demolition or a complete redrawing of the lines.
—Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026
The only thing that makes this less egregious is that Miami won a title the very next year, albeit without Jones, the architect behind the budding dynasty.
—Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for egregious
Cite this Entry
“Egregious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egregious. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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egregious
adjective
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egregious
adjective
