as in jerk
a person who believes that he or she has unlimited power or importance
Their CEO is a real megalomaniac who feels she can partake in any luxury with the company's profits.
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Recent Examples of megalomaniac
And leading the country is a megalomaniac — Anthony Starr’s always riveting Homelander — who might be going insane.
—
James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2026
Trump has a child’s attention span, a megalomaniac’s urge for a ribbon cutting before his term ends, zero willingness to listen to anyone who doesn not agree with him, and — most of all — an unshakable belief that his taste and judgment is far better than any arts commission’s.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 1 Apr. 2026
Henry is a megalomaniac and a complete wuss.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
There are still many in this country who value truth, who believe that history should be preserved and not erased, who understand that constitutional rights should not be swept away to suit the whims of a megalomaniac, and who refuse to wallow in ignorance and hate.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026
By late 2020, however, Sam Altman himself had come to seem about as trustworthy as the average corporate megalomaniac.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Pierre Bergé called me a megalomaniac and threw me out the next season.
—James Fallon, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
The Houthis are led by a family of clerical megalomaniacs who have been prophesying apocalyptic war since the early 2000s.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2026
Trump has a child’s attention span, a megalomaniac’s urge for a ribbon cutting before his term ends, zero willingness to listen to anyone who doesn not agree with him, and — most of all — an unshakable belief that his taste and judgment is far better than any arts commission’s.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 1 Apr. 2026
Henry is a megalomaniac and a complete wuss.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
There are still many in this country who value truth, who believe that history should be preserved and not erased, who understand that constitutional rights should not be swept away to suit the whims of a megalomaniac, and who refuse to wallow in ignorance and hate.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2026
By late 2020, however, Sam Altman himself had come to seem about as trustworthy as the average corporate megalomaniac.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Pierre Bergé called me a megalomaniac and threw me out the next season.
—James Fallon, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
The Houthis are led by a family of clerical megalomaniacs who have been prophesying apocalyptic war since the early 2000s.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for megalomaniac
Noun
-
There’s an almost-friendship-ending rift over husbands (Brent Thiessen is Cee Cee’s, a cool-guy theater director; Ben Jacoby is Bertie’s, a rich jerk) that feels deeply dated and, in the context of the women’s tell-each-other-everything friendship, just plain weird.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The jerk chicken is rubbed in a sweet honey glaze.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Zachary Schermele On the heels of a frightening shooting over the weekend, the royal address seemed to bring Washington together in a moment of relative unity at a time when it was needed.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Swift made her return to the red carpet in March at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, kicking off spring in a seafoam green corset and skirt set by Wiederhoeft and matching Jimmy Choo heels.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There’s some Streisand, too, and a big dose of Andrea Martin, specifically Martin’s signature SCTV character Edith Prickley, that bawdy, gawdy ham with all the bravado of a Catskills clown.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
22 Apr. 2026
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Once completed, the $5 million acquisition will ensure the theater has a permanent home, a place where skateboarding clowns and leek-haired onions can continue to frolic and dance for decades to come.—
Todd Martens,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The 69-year-old joker plans to make his comeback at California’s Ice House Comedy Club in Pasadena Wednesday night.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
After months bandying about the term joker to describe his team’s need for a matchup-threat pass-catcher, Sean Payton sat with the media at the NFL owners’ meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, last year and confirmed Denver had gotten its guy.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Megalomaniac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/megalomaniac. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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