grandiosity

[ gran-dee-os-i-tee ]

noun

1. the quality of seeming impressive or important in an artificial or deliberately pompous way; pretentiousness:

   These are mere bogus revolutionaries, high on the sound of their own voices and the silly grandiosity of their claims.

2. the quality of actually being imposing or impressive:

   Through the photographer's eyes these sprawling, well-known cities become worlds of extreme beauty, elegance, and grandiosity.

3. the quality of being more complicated or elaborate than necessary:

   Hockey’s a great sport: gentlemanly and understated, with no fuss or grandiosity.

4. Psychiatry. an exaggerated belief in one’s own importance, sometimes reaching delusional proportions, as a symptom of a mental illness such as manic disorder:

   Paranoiacs tend to carry a bit of guilt with their grandiosity—a sense of some great transgression that has made them a magnet for universal hostility.

Word History and Origins

Origin of grandiosity¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French grandiosité, from Italian grandiosità, equivalent to grandiose ( def ) + -ity ( def )

Example Sentences

Presented as compelling theater, they brought in-depth insight into our often simplistic attempts to understand the Russian mind, with its complex aspirations, fears and insecurity that can lead to greatness, grandiosity or outright malevolence.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump's grandiosity and need for adoration and attention is as great as his vulnerability which is why he hates and wants to destroy anyone who dares to disagree with him or otherwise opposes him.

From Salon

The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the inevitably ensuing debacles in Afghanistan and Iraq stoked a strange mental syndrome made up of fear and grandiosity.

From Salon

Over the course of the afternoon, Cohen showed some of his old traits — a grandiosity and a boost in his self-esteem from being close to celebrity.

From Seattle Times

Clinically speaking, narcissistic personality disorder is "a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy," according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

From Salon

Related Words

• grandeur
• magnificence