self-importance
"self-importance" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“self-importance” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An exaggerated estimate of one's own importance or merit, especially as manifested by the conduct or manners; self-conceit.
Corpus desk
Index EN-self-importance · self-importance · English
self-importance · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 15 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | self-importance |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “self-importance” in English
Rare enough to double-check
self-importance is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An exaggerated estimate of one's own importance or merit, especially as manifested by the conduct or manners; self-conceit.".
self-importance doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From self- + importance. The correct English form is self-importance, spelled S-E-L-F---I-M-P-O-R-T-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1An exaggerated estimate of one's own importance or merit, especially as manifested by the conduct or manners; self-conceit.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how self-importance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Lord Marchmont was about thirty years of age, and what is generally called a fine-looking man. His figure was good, as far as his height and proportion went; but his movements wanted ease, and, consequently, grace; and there was something of self-importance in his air—the last thing in the world to prepossess a beholder in his favour.
Wikileaks has always had a healthy sense of self-importance—one that seems, at least in part, well-deserved. But there's something uniquely hubristic about accusing a major newspaper (and former collaborator) of "gross negligence or malice" over the release of 251,000 unredacted top-secret cables—when the fault lies with the website itself.
Etymology
From self- + importance.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.