egregious — Of its two opposed meanings, ‘remarkably good, distinguished’ (as in Marlowe s egregious viceroys of these eastern parts in Tamburlaine) and ‘remarkably bad’, only the second is now in use, although it is also used to mean ‘exceptional, unusual’… … Modern English usage
Egregious — E*gre gious (?; 277), a. [L. egregius; lit., separated or chosen from the herd, i. e., distinguished, excellent; e out + grex, gregis, herd. See {Gregarious}.] Surpassing; extraordinary; distinguished (in a bad sense); formerly used with words… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
egregious — egre·gious /i grē jəs/ adj: extremely and conspicuously bad Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. egregious I … Law dictionary
egregious — [ē grē′jəs, igrē′jəs; ] also [, ē grē′jəs əs, i grējē əs] adj. [L egregius, separated from the herd, hence select < e , out + grex: see GREGARIOUS] 1. Archaic remarkable 2. outstanding for undesirable qualities; remarkably bad; flagrant [an… … English World dictionary
egregious — 1530s, distinguished, eminent, excellent, from L. egregius distinguished, excellent, extraordinary, from the phrase ex grege rising above the flock, from ex out of (see EX (Cf. ex )) + grege, ablative of grex herd, flock (see GREGARIOUS (Cf … Etymology dictionary
egregious — [adj] outstandingly bad; outrageous arrant, atrocious, capital, deplorable, extreme, flagrant, glaring, grievous, gross*, heinous, infamous, insufferable, intolerable, monstrous, nefarious, notorious, outright, preposterous, rank, scandalous,… … New thesaurus
egregious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) outstandingly bad. 2) archaic remarkably good. DERIVATIVES egregiously adverb egregiousness noun. ORIGIN Latin egregius illustrious (literally standing out from the flock ), from grex flock … English terms dictionary
egregious — /əˈgridʒiəs / (say uh greejeeuhs), / dʒəs/ (say juhs) adjective 1. remarkably or extraordinarily bad; flagrant: an egregious lie; an egregious fool; *I am not going to pander to such egregious vanity. –ada cambridge, 1904. 2. Obsolete… …
egregious — adjective Etymology: Latin egregius, from e + greg , grex herd more at gregarious Date: circa 1534 1. archaic distinguished 2. conspicuous; especially conspicuously bad ; flagrant < egregious errors > … New Collegiate Dictionary
egregious — egregiously, adv. egregiousness, n. /i gree jeuhs, jee euhs/, adj. 1. extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant: an egregious mistake; an egregious liar. 2. Archaic. distinguished or eminent. [1525 35; < L egregius preeminent, equiv. to e… … Universalium
egregious — adjective /ɪˈɡriː.dʒəs,əˈɡriː.dʒi.əs/ a) Exceptional, conspicuous, outstanding, most usually in a negative fashion. The student has made egregious errors on the examination. b) Outrageously bad. I cannot cross my arms, or sigh Ah me, / Ah me… … Wiktionary
