SELF-FLATTERING Synonyms: 127 Similar and Opposite Words

self-flattering

adjective

Definition of self-flattering

as in narcissistic

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of self-flattering Might there be a hint of something vain, or self-flattering in that charm? — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026 Sugimoto’s ecoformalism consists in challenging this self-flattering intuition. — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025 Convert a self-flattering remark into a mixture of both humility-based and complaint-based. — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024 The notion that history is a story of progress is another self-flattering illusion. — Helena Rosenblatt, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-flattering

Adjective

The series produced by Mia Oikanen for Warner Bros Int’l Television Production Finland tells of a shy theater prop master who accidentally becomes a killer while trying to please everyone around her, especially her narcissistic mom.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
Her ex-husband, Logan (Owen McDonnell), is a narcissistic man-child, so there’s no help coming from him, nor her elderly parents (one of whom has lost two toes to diabetes).

— Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of narcissistic

Adjective

Digger epitomizes the difference between big swing and hubristic folly more than any film since Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, another wildly ambitious bid to skewer the chaos of contemporary reality.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Coxon argued that corporate competition has trapped labs in a hubristic race that forces them to build dangerous systems first.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of hubristic

Adjective

Meanwhile, Johnson reprises his role as Moana's bantering reluctant partner, the shapeshifting trickster demigod Maui, alongside Jemaine Clement again voicing the conceited giant crustacean Tamatoa.

— Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 July 2026
Avoid Burying Praise in Negatives To avoid making children too conceited, parents might bury praise in the midst of negatives.

— Wayne Parker, Parents, 8 Mar. 2026

Definition of conceited

Adjective

Through remarkable archival footage and an incredible range of interviews, Monsters of God digs into the egotistical and ruthless mentalities that supported competing criminal empires and the undercover operations that dismantled them.

— Rory Doherty, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Where some may see this behavior as vain or egotistical, others may perceive it as bold, self-assured and passionate.

— Mallorie Sullivan, USA Today, 20 July 2026

Definition of egotistic

Adjective

Here was my chance to get out of London, this counterfeit of death with its everywhere rage and its moribund culture and its smug population and its streets steeped in resentment and the sky pressing down like a chloroform rag.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
Hilton vouches for their integrity, then quickly pivots into an attack on smug Democrats who take voters for granted.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of smug

Adjective

California shouldn’t be complacent, but the state isn’t slouching on preparation, or resolve.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Top grading involves removing a leader who has grown complacent and is no longer the right match for the job and replacing them with someone who is better equipped for the new challenges in the role.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of complacent

Browse Nearby Words

self-flagellation

self-flattering

self-forgetful

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“Self-flattering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-flattering. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of self-flattering

adjective

Example Sentences

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