Egregious
adjective /ɪˈɡriːdʒəs/ — Shockingly bad; outstandingly wrong.
Definition
Remarkably and conspicuously bad — so poor or offensive that it stands out as exceptional in its wrongness.
Beyond the definition
Egregious is the word for wrongs that cannot be minimised. An egregious error. An egregious violation. Egregious implies that the thing in question isn't just bad — it's bad enough that everyone in the room notices.
Origin & history
From Latin egregius (outstanding, distinguished) — from e- (out of) + grex (herd). Originally meant distinguished — standing out from the herd in a good way. By the 16th century, ironic use had flipped it to mean outstanding in badness.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The report documented egregious violations of workplace safety standards.
It was an egregious error — one that should have been caught at every stage of review.
The judge described the conduct as egregious and handed down the maximum sentence.
How to use it
This entry uses an adjective. Follow the examples for the nouns it describes and its position in the sentence.
Choose “Egregious” when the meaning fits your context: Remarkably and conspicuously bad — so poor or offensive that it stands out as exceptional in its wrongness.
Synonyms
flagrant, glaring, outrageous, monstrous, gross
Antonyms
minor, trivial, insignificant, forgivable
Related words
- flagrant
- heinous
- notorious
- conspicuous
Egregious vs flagrant
Flagrant describes something done openly and without concealment — a flagrant violation makes no attempt to hide itself. Egregious describes something so bad it stands out among all examples of that category: an egregious error is not just wrong but conspicuously, extraordinarily wrong. Something can be flagrant without being especially severe; egregious implies exceptional badness. The flagrant act announces itself; the egregious one shocks by its scale.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Stark Divisions in Society
People at different levels of a stone staircase wear distinct, hierarchical clothing.
The rigid, harsh divisions between the layers of the staircase illustrate an egregious social structure. The depth of the inequality is so conspicuous and extreme that it stands out as a clear example of what is fundamentally wrong in this community.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Egregious" mean?
Egregious is adjective meaning: Shockingly bad; outstandingly wrong.. Remarkably and conspicuously bad — so poor or offensive that it stands out as exceptional in its wrongness.
Where does the word "Egregious" come from?
From Latin egregius (outstanding, distinguished) — from e- (out of) + grex (herd). Originally meant distinguished — standing out from the herd in a good way. By the 16th century, ironic use had flipped it to mean outstanding in badness.