as in jerk
a person who believes that he or she has unlimited power or importance
Their CEO is a real megalomaniac who feels she can partake in any luxury with the company's profits.
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Recent Examples of megalomaniac
Trump has a child’s attention span, a megalomaniac’s urge for a ribbon cutting before his term ends, zero willingness to listen to anyone who doesn not agree with him, and — most of all — an unshakable belief that his taste and judgment is far better than any arts commission’s.
—
Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 1 Apr. 2026
Henry is a megalomaniac and a complete wuss.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
There are still many in this country who value truth, who believe that history should be preserved and not erased, who understand that constitutional rights should not be swept away to suit the whims of a megalomaniac, and who refuse to wallow in ignorance and hate.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026
By late 2020, however, Sam Altman himself had come to seem about as trustworthy as the average corporate megalomaniac.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Pierre Bergé called me a megalomaniac and threw me out the next season.
—James Fallon, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
The Houthis are led by a family of clerical megalomaniacs who have been prophesying apocalyptic war since the early 2000s.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 1 Apr. 2026
Henry is a megalomaniac and a complete wuss.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
There are still many in this country who value truth, who believe that history should be preserved and not erased, who understand that constitutional rights should not be swept away to suit the whims of a megalomaniac, and who refuse to wallow in ignorance and hate.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026
By late 2020, however, Sam Altman himself had come to seem about as trustworthy as the average corporate megalomaniac.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Pierre Bergé called me a megalomaniac and threw me out the next season.
—James Fallon, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
The Houthis are led by a family of clerical megalomaniacs who have been prophesying apocalyptic war since the early 2000s.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for megalomaniac
Noun
-
Dear Jay Norvell, try not to be a complete @#$&%# jerk.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Dishes like jerk chicken and rice and beans cooked in coconut milk reflect the region’s deep Jamaican and British colonial influences that are distinctive from other parts of Costa Rica.—
Meghan Palmer,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Coming on the heels of James Gunn’s Superman, which grossed over $618M worldwide last summer, Supergirl opens in theaters and IMAX across North America on June 26.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2026
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On the heels of a winter heat wave that left people wondering where spring went, a new study reveals that most of the winter snowpack in the White Mountains in eastern Arizona had melted by mid-March.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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When Feld Entertainment unveiled a new edition of the circus with much fanfare in 2023, the only animal in it was a mechanical robot dog and while there was some comedy, traditional circus clowns were not a part of it.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
5 Apr. 2026
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In Nuremberg,Göring is closer to a sad clown than to a monster.—
Alice Kaplan,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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After months bandying about the term joker to describe his team’s need for a matchup-threat pass-catcher, Sean Payton sat with the media at the NFL owners’ meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, last year and confirmed Denver had gotten its guy.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
28 Mar. 2026
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Students are required to bring two full decks of cards including the jokers.—
Kris Slugg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Megalomaniac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/megalomaniac. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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