Meaning & use
self-congratulatory
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Meaning
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Showing too much satisfaction with your own achievements or abilities, especially in a way that annoys other people.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a self-congratulatory speech; the mood was self-congratulatory.
Patterns
- a self-congratulatory tone
- feel self-congratulatory
The director's speech was long and self-congratulatory.
Her self-congratulatory tweet about the win got a cool reaction.
The report has a self-congratulatory tone that ignores the failures.
Word forms
| comparative | more self-congratulatory |
|---|---|
| superlative | most self-congratulatory |
Common combinations
- self-congratulatory tone
- I disliked the self-congratulatory tone of the memo.
- self-congratulatory speech
- The mayor gave a self-congratulatory speech.
- self-congratulatory mood
- A self-congratulatory mood filled the boardroom.
- self-congratulatory smile
- He wore a self-congratulatory smile after the meeting.
- self-congratulatory article
- The newspaper ran a self-congratulatory article on its own anniversary.
Synonyms and how they differ
- smug
- Smug is shorter and sharper, describing a pleased look that annoys, while self-congratulatory is more formal and describes words or tone.
- complacent
- Complacent means too satisfied to see danger or need improvement, which is different from boasting.
- boastful
- Boastful describes speaking proudly about oneself directly, while self-congratulatory can be softer and more implied.
- self-satisfied
- Self-satisfied describes a general feeling of contentment, with less focus on expressing it publicly.
Opposites
Word family
- congratulate verb
- to express praise or joy for someone's success
- congratulation noun
- praise for an achievement
- self-congratulation noun
- excessive praise of oneself
- self-congratulate verb
- to praise oneself
Commonly confused: self-congratulatory or self-confident?
self-congratulatory vs self-confident
Self-confident is positive and means believing in yourself, while self-congratulatory is negative and means praising yourself too much.
Practice
The company's annual report was so ____ that it never mentioned the failed product launch.
Choose one answer.
Self-congratulatory describes praising yourself and ignoring faults. Self-critical is tempting but would mean the report did discuss its failures.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-congratulatory”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.