Meaning & use
self-aggrandising
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a noundisapproving
Trying to make yourself seem more important, powerful, or successful than you really are.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a self-aggrandising speech. You can also use it after a linking verb: His remarks were self-aggrandising.
Patterns
- a self-aggrandising speech
- a self-aggrandising leader
- be self-aggrandising
The manager gave a self-aggrandising talk about how he had saved the company single-handedly.
Her self-aggrandising social media posts annoyed her colleagues.
The article was criticized for its self-aggrandising tone.
Common combinations
- self-aggrandising behavior
- His constant self-aggrandising behavior made him unpopular with the team.
- self-aggrandising speech
- The CEO's self-aggrandising speech focused only on his own achievements.
- self-aggrandising memoir
- The book was dismissed as a self-aggrandising memoir full of exaggerated claims.
- self-aggrandising tendencies
- She worried about her own self-aggrandising tendencies and tried to stay humble.
Synonyms and how they differ
- boastful
- Boastful means talking too proudly about yourself, but it does not always suggest trying to seem more important than you are; self-aggrandising is more about exaggerating your status or power.
- egotistical
- Egotistical means thinking only about yourself and your own importance, while self-aggrandising focuses on actively trying to make others see you as more important.
- grandiose
- Grandiose describes plans or ideas that are too large and ambitious, not people's self-promotion, so it fits a different context.
Opposites
Word family
- self-aggrandisement noun
- The act of making yourself seem more important, often used in formal writing.
- self-aggrandise verb
- To make yourself seem more important; less common than the adjective.
Commonly confused: self-aggrandising or self-aggrandizing?
self-aggrandising vs self-aggrandizing
This is the American spelling with a 'z'. Use 'self-aggrandising' in British English and 'self-aggrandizing' in American English.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'self-aggrandising' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct answer is B because it describes a speech that makes the speaker seem more important than he is, which matches the meaning of 'self-aggrandising'. Option An is wrong because an apology is not usually about making yourself seem important; option C is wrong because feeling self-aggrandising is not a natural use (you would say 'felt important' or 'felt proud'); option D is wrong because sharing toys is a modest action, not a self-aggrandising one.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-aggrandising”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.