egregious

egregious
egregious
Of its two opposed meanings, ‘remarkably good, distinguished’ (as in Marlowe's egregious viceroys of these eastern parts in Tamburlaine) and ‘remarkably bad’, only the second is now in use, although it is also used to mean ‘exceptional, unusual’ more neutrally. The word comes from Latin grex meaning ‘flock’, and originally meant ‘towering above the flock’, i.e. ‘prominent’. Modern examples: (with bad overtones)

• It may well be the case that an egregious idiocy has formed the basis of a political tradition —Twentieth Century British History, 1991

• I have waited a long time to catch The Economist out on an egregious factual error —Economist, 1993

• While the most egregious excesses of the Internet bubble were to be found in America, rather than here, it is certainly not safe to assume that our markets are immune from the same problems —Independent, 2005

• (neutral) The inside is unified and austere, apart from an egregious baroque reredos, with a barrel vault, [etc.] —J. Sturrock, 1988

• He was truly egregious but a kind man and a good skipper —Dictionary of National Biography, 1993.


Modern English usage. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Egregious — E*gre gious (?; 277), a. [L. egregius; lit., separated or chosen from the herd, i. e., distinguished, excellent; e out + grex, gregis, herd. See {Gregarious}.] Surpassing; extraordinary; distinguished (in a bad sense); formerly used with words… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • egregious — egre·gious /i grē jəs/ adj: extremely and conspicuously bad Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. egregious I …   Law dictionary

  • egregious — [ē grē′jəs, igrē′jəs; ] also [, ē grē′jəs əs, i grējē əs] adj. [L egregius, separated from the herd, hence select < e , out + grex: see GREGARIOUS] 1. Archaic remarkable 2. outstanding for undesirable qualities; remarkably bad; flagrant [an… …   English World dictionary

  • egregious — 1530s, distinguished, eminent, excellent, from L. egregius distinguished, excellent, extraordinary, from the phrase ex grege rising above the flock, from ex out of (see EX (Cf. ex )) + grege, ablative of grex herd, flock (see GREGARIOUS (Cf …   Etymology dictionary

  • egregious — [adj] outstandingly bad; outrageous arrant, atrocious, capital, deplorable, extreme, flagrant, glaring, grievous, gross*, heinous, infamous, insufferable, intolerable, monstrous, nefarious, notorious, outright, preposterous, rank, scandalous,… …   New thesaurus

  • egregious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) outstandingly bad. 2) archaic remarkably good. DERIVATIVES egregiously adverb egregiousness noun. ORIGIN Latin egregius illustrious (literally standing out from the flock ), from grex flock …   English terms dictionary

  • egregious — /əˈgridʒiəs / (say uh greejeeuhs), / dʒəs/ (say juhs) adjective 1. remarkably or extraordinarily bad; flagrant: an egregious lie; an egregious fool; *I am not going to pander to such egregious vanity. –ada cambridge, 1904. 2. Obsolete… …  

  • egregious — adjective Etymology: Latin egregius, from e + greg , grex herd more at gregarious Date: circa 1534 1. archaic distinguished 2. conspicuous; especially conspicuously bad ; flagrant < egregious errors > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • egregious — egregiously, adv. egregiousness, n. /i gree jeuhs, jee euhs/, adj. 1. extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant: an egregious mistake; an egregious liar. 2. Archaic. distinguished or eminent. [1525 35; < L egregius preeminent, equiv. to e… …   Universalium

  • egregious — adjective /ɪˈɡriː.dʒəs,əˈɡriː.dʒi.əs/ a) Exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion. The student has made egregious errors on the examination. b) Outrageously bad. I cannot cross my arms, or sigh Ah me, / Ah me… …   Wiktionary

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