self-important

adjective

Having, or behaving as if having, too high an opinion of one's own importance.

“Near-synonym: self-entitled”

Meanings

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

comparative more self-important · superlative most self-important

  1. Having, or behaving as if having, too high an opinion of one's own importance.

    Near-synonym: self-entitled

    2 more examples

    The assistant manager was a self-important fellow who strutted about the office barking instructions.

    But despite its plague of tunnels, the run-in on this route is of unusual interest to the locomotive enthusiast: besides the hordes of self-important saddle-tanks shunting in the extensive yards, there was at one time the chance of seeing those slender little North London engines, with their large outside cylinders and no visible storage place for coal, and also an occasional South Eastern locomotive sporting a lot of polished brass.

    1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 704

    Synonyms: conceited, haughty, pompous, hoity-toity, turgescent, self-entitled · Antonyms: self-deprecating

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveHaving, or behaving as if having, too high an opinion of one's own importance.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivehaving or showing feelings of unwarranted importance out of overbearing pride

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. Englishimportant
  9. Englishself-important

From self- + important.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish selvhøjtidelig, indbildsk
  • selvhøjtidelighaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • indbildskhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • opblæsthaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Finnish itsetärkeä, tärkeilevä
  • itsetärkeähaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • tärkeilevähaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
French présomptueux
  • présomptueuxhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
German wichtigtuerisch
  • wichtigtuerischhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Irish gusmhar, gustalach
  • gusmharhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • gustalachhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • leitheadachhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • mórluachachhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • mórchúiseachhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • postúilhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • toirtéiseachhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • tromchúiseachhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Italian borioso, montato
  • boriosohaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • montatohaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Māori whakaī
  • whakaīhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Norwegian Bokmål selvhøytidelig
  • selvhøytidelighaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Polish ważny
  • ważnyhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Swedish förmäten, inbilsk
  • förmätenhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • inbilskhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • uppblåsthaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • viktighaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Tagalog paimportante, papampam
  • paimportantehaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
  • papampamhaving too high an opinion of one's own importance
Cite this entry
APA

self-important. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-important

MLA

“self-important.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-important. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-important,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-important.

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