Definition

Noun: A psychological state or mental disorder characterized by delusions of grandeur, power, wealth, or omnipotence. It involves an obsessive belief in one's own extreme importance, greatness, or superiority, often to a degree that is unrealistic and disconnected from reality.

Usage

The word "megalomania" is used to describe a pathological condition, typically in clinical psychology or psychiatry. It is also used more informally in general contexts to criticize someone's behavior when it displays an extreme and obsessive lust for power or a grandiose sense of self-importance.

Examples

• The dictator's megalomania led him to build enormous, impractical monuments to himself.
• Psychiatrists diagnosed the patient's symptoms as a form of megalomania.
• The CEO's megalomania was evident in his belief that he alone could single-handedly save the failing company.

Advanced Usage

• Clinical Context: In psychiatry, megalomania is often considered a symptom of other disorders, such as narcissistic personality disorder or certain types of schizophrenia, rather than a standalone diagnosis.
• Figurative/Critical Use: The term is frequently used in political commentary, history, and biography to describe leaders whose actions are driven by an insatiable and irrational desire for power and adulation.

Variants and Related Words

• Megalomaniac (noun): A person who suffers from or displays megalomania.
  • The film portrayed the villain as a dangerous megalomaniac.
• Megalomaniacal (adjective): Having the qualities of megalomania.
  • His megalomaniacal schemes were doomed to fail.

Synonyms

• Delusions of grandeur
• Grandiosity
• Narcissism (though narcissism is a broader personality trait, while megalomania specifically emphasizes delusional aspects of grandeur)
• Messiah complex

Antonyms

• Humility
• Modesty
• Self-effacement

Idioms and Phrases

• Driven by megalomania: Used to describe actions motivated by this condition.
  • The entire war was driven by the emperor's megalomania.
• A touch of megalomania: A mild or informal way to suggest someone is acting with excessive self-importance.
  • Planning a party for a thousand guests shows a touch of megalomania.

Noun

1. a psychological state characterized by delusions of grandeur