MEGALOMANIAC Synonyms: 26 Similar and Opposite Words

megalomaniac

noun

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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 megalomaniac She’s covered enough megalomaniacs to recognize that someone like Stensen won’t spend billions of dollars building an underground colony that will never be used. — Noel Murray, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2026 Stark, having been elected governor and already well along in his fateful descent from an idealistic man of the people to an entirely corrupt megalomaniac, is on the way to visit his childhood home. — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026 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 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 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

The latter accidentally does happen, which leads to power struggles between the bigoted jerk and our trio of heroines.

— Brian Truitt, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Duffy, for his part, came across as a real jerk at times, but surprisingly charming at others, with a half-nerd, half-jock mien—sweepy hair, big glasses, a megawatt smile—that put me in mind of a Wisconsin Sam Seaborn.

— Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of jerk

Noun

The delicate shape still nods to classic ballet flats, but the slight heel gives everything a little more polish, making the pairing feel less Sunday lunch with your nan and more Copenhagen Fashion Week.

— Georgia Brown, Glamour, 29 Aug. 2026
The suede boots featured a thigh-high design with a stiletto measuring 100 mm, just shy of a 4-inch heel.

— Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of heel

Noun

But my favorite Tim Curry performance will always be Pennywise, the clown in Tommy Lee Wallace’s 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s It, which, compared to Andy Muschietti’s mega popular pair of films, is modest, even a little lame.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
Curry, who died Tuesday at 80, made a gleefully evil turn as a clown that sparked nightmares for legions of Gen X and millennial viewers that continue to haunt to this day.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of clown

Noun

The jokers Toth and Jackson, bless them, keep things endearing and funny.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
At some point, all these jokers need to sit down and stop auditioning for attention long enough to actually do the jobs they were elected or appointed to do.

— Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of joker

Browse Nearby Words

megaliths

megalomaniac

megalomaniacs

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Megalomaniac.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/megalomaniac. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of megalomaniac

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

recalcitrant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes