as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
a self-important businessman who believed his schedule mattered more than anyone else's
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of self-important
Jamie Demetriou, best known for his memorable performances in Fleabag and Stath Lets Flats, has been cast as the pompous and self-important distant relative who intends to marry one of the Bennet girls.
—
Emily Blackwood, People.com, 30 July 2025
This self-important aging fart, going on and on about himself, his thoughts, feelings, emotions.
—Literary Hub, 29 July 2025
It was being painted as an out-of-touch, arcane, and self-important social institution from a bygone era, and was doing very little to dispel that characterization.
—David Rosowsky, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
The adults in Moonrise Kingdom are either thoroughly unhappy, in the case of Suzy’s parents (played by Frances McDormand and Bill Murray), or rather delusional, like Sam’s self-important troop master (Edward Norton).
—Shannon Carlin, Time, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Emily Blackwood, People.com, 30 July 2025
This self-important aging fart, going on and on about himself, his thoughts, feelings, emotions.
—Literary Hub, 29 July 2025
It was being painted as an out-of-touch, arcane, and self-important social institution from a bygone era, and was doing very little to dispel that characterization.
—David Rosowsky, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
The adults in Moonrise Kingdom are either thoroughly unhappy, in the case of Suzy’s parents (played by Frances McDormand and Bill Murray), or rather delusional, like Sam’s self-important troop master (Edward Norton).
—Shannon Carlin, Time, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-important
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-important
Adjective
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Colum’s smug assurance that the wedding will happen soon is rocked when Ned shows up with news of the Grants’ suspicions about the raid.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Howard sells his smug malice, digging into Matt in a way no one has before until the whole thing devolves into a physical fight.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Zane played the arrogant Cal Hockley, who was engaged to Jack's love interest, Rose (played by Kate Winslet).—
Virginia Chamlee,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Hardly seems like enough to cow these arrogant companies into behaving, especially when their business model is so intrinsically tied to hoovering up other people’s information and creative work.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Hilaria Baldwin and Gleb Savchenko showed off their Cha Cha skills loud and proud tonight!—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
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The best people aren’t too proud to prove themselves on the ground.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Kirk promised that her husband will not have died in vain and said that instead his message would only become stronger.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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Thomas doesn't want her daughter to die in vain, either.—
Nushrat Rahman,
Freep.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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All but the most vainglorious architects imagine that their buildings will change in some small way after completion.—
Anthony Paletta,
Curbed,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The real real thing tended to be rather different: clumsy, ad hoc, vainglorious—and secret.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
Adjective
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The kooky characters surrounding Judge Stone included the conceited prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the imposing bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), and the idealistic public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), each of whom had various quirks of their own.—
Dan Heching,
EW.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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This is the worst kind of football team: a conceited but objectively mediocre squad.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
The Mercury News,
17 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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While The Morning Show presents the news business as glossy and glamorous (and often a little pompous), The Paper takes the opposite view with the documentary crew from The Office now focusing on a dying newspaper in Ohio.—
Emma Alpern,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
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Guigal’s strategy isn’t built on pompous conservatism, but in long-term thinking.—
Paul Caputo,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-important.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-important. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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