self-aggrandizing

adjective

Boastful; intended to make oneself seem more important.

“His self-aggrandizing talk alienated his colleagues, who had done the work he claimed credit for.”

Similar
self-aggrandisingboastfulbraggartbraggingbraggybigcock-a-hoopcrowing
OriginEnglish aggrandizing ← Middle English self- ← Old English self- →
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Meanings

adjectiveself-aggrandizing (comparative more self-aggrandizing, superlative most self-aggrandizing)

comparative more self-aggrandizing · superlative most self-aggrandizing

  1. Boastful; intended to make oneself seem more important.

    His self-aggrandizing talk alienated his colleagues, who had done the work he claimed credit for.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveof or relating to or characteristic of self-aggrandizement

Similar
self-aggrandising

adjectiveexhibiting self-importance

Similar
boastfulbraggartbraggingbraggybigcock-a-hoopcrowingself-aggrandisingproud
Also see
bigboastfulbraggartbraggingbraggycock-a-hoopcrowing

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*selbaz
  4. Old Englishself
  5. Old Englishself-
  6. Middle Englishself-
  7. Englishself-
  8. Englishaggrandizing
  9. Englishself-aggrandizing

From self- + aggrandizing.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

self-aggrandizing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-aggrandizing

MLA

“self-aggrandizing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-aggrandizing. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-aggrandizing,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-aggrandizing.

Source: self-aggrandizing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.