SELF-IMPORTANT Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

self-important

adjective

ˌself-im-ˈpȯr-tᵊnt

Definition of self-important

as in smug

having too high an opinion of oneself a self-important businessman who believed his schedule mattered more than anyone else's

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of self-important Laugh-In’s producer always thought this won Nixon the election (producers can get a little self-important). — Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 18 Feb. 2026 This isn’t just one self-important critic’s opinion — Berry herself has talked about it. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2026 Looking elegant as ever, Huppert appears with script in hand, half-reading, half-reciting a long, self-important monologue, written by Rozek. — Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Feb. 2026 And women who foreground themselves in any capacity are often perceived to be self-important drama queens, or narcissists. — Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for self-important

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-important

Adjective

Historian Sandgruber describes how Alois Hitler wrote his 1895 letters in a deeply smug, anti-clerical manner that overestimated his abilities.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 June 2026
Li at times plays Cola with a smug impetuousness that belies her naivety about this world to a satisfying degree.

— Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 17 June 2026

Definition of smug

Adjective

As such, there is a tendency among such countries to view Europeans as arrogant and self-serving, perhaps even neo-colonialist, with a desire to at least maintain, or maybe even strengthen, their position of power.

— Simon Chadwick, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
James, Lord Dalhousie, the arrogant and ruthless Governor General of British India, who had long coveted the riches of Punjab and the Koh-i-Noor, was triumphant.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of arrogant

Adjective

This Queens bakery comes from two restaurant-industry veterans and proud Filipinos Kimberly Camara and Kevin Borja, who started a pop-up back in 2020 and quickly developed a cult following that demanded a brick-and-mortar.

— Kyle Beechey, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Aug. 2026
Salesforce is proud to be an early investor, customer, and partner.

— Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of proud

Adjective

Hoult’s Gilderoy Lockhart a notoriously vain, boastful and fame-obsessed wizard well versed in Memory Charms who is recruited by Dumbledore as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
They are expected to become wiser but not louder, visible but not vain, accomplished but not demanding, and well-preserved but not provocative.

— Debbie Millman, Time, 25 July 2026

Definition of vain

Adjective

Claire’s elective death therefore remains a problematic choice for some viewers, an act of vainglorious selfishness from a woman who was never terribly nice to begin with.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026
Melodramatic and vainglorious, moody and capricious, a fidgety, neurotic hypochondriac, Stalin was a bundle of appalling contradictions.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 Feb. 2026

Definition of vainglorious

Adjective

Meanwhile, Johnson reprises his role as Moana's bantering reluctant partner, the shapeshifting trickster demigod Maui, alongside Jemaine Clement again voicing the conceited giant crustacean Tamatoa.

— Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 July 2026
Avoid Burying Praise in Negatives To avoid making children too conceited, parents might bury praise in the midst of negatives.

— Wayne Parker, Parents, 8 Mar. 2026