What does egomania mean?
Egomania refers to an obsessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own importance — a state of mind in which self-centeredness becomes so consuming that it borders on the pathological. The word combines 'ego,' the Latin term for 'I' or the self, with 'mania,' from the Greek for madness or frenzy, so its literal sense is something like 'madness of the self.' It is stronger than ordinary egotism or vanity: while an egotist may simply talk too much about himself, someone described as showing egomania appears genuinely fixated, exaggerating his significance and dismissing the perspectives of others. The term is pejorative and is most often applied to public figures — tyrants, tycoons, celebrities — whose self-regard seems to drive their behavior. Related forms include 'egomaniac' for the person and 'egomaniacal' as the adjective. Because it vividly names an recognizable human failing, egomania remains a useful word in criticism, biography, and everyday judgment alike.
nounObsessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own importance; an extreme form of egotism in which a person is consumed by self-centered thoughts and an inflated sense of their own significance.
- Obsessive self-preoccupation and an exaggerated sense of one's own importance, often to the point of disregarding others.
"His egomania alienated even his most loyal colleagues, who grew weary of a boss who could talk about nothing but himself."
"Critics dismissed the dictator's memoirs as pure egomania, hundreds of pages devoted almost entirely to his own genius."
"Behind her charm, friends sensed a creeping egomania that made every conversation circle back to her."
Rarely pluralized; the word is almost always used as an uncountable mass noun.
"The biographer catalogued the egomanias of history's great conquerors."
Blend the Latin 'ego' with the Greek 'mania' and you get a word that literally diagnoses self-love as a form of madness.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of egomania
Egomania is a modern formation joining two classical roots: Latin 'ego,' meaning 'I,' and Greek 'mania,' meaning madness or frenzy. It emerged in the nineteenth century alongside related coinages such as egotism and egocentric, as English borrowed freely from both Latin and Greek to build psychological vocabulary. Its cognates include egoist, egocentric, and maniac, all drawing on the same roots.
Related word forms
How egomania is actually used
Egomania carries a strongly negative connotation and is typically used critically or diagnostically rather than affectionately. It is more intense than everyday words like vanity or selfishness, implying obsession rather than mere self-regard.
Easily confused with egomania
Egotism is habitual self-centeredness or boastfulness, while egomania implies a more intense, obsessive fixation on oneself approaching the pathological.