megalomania

[meg-uh-loh-mey-nee-uh] /ˌmɛg ə loʊˈmeɪ ni ə/

noun

Psychiatry. a symptom of mental illness marked by delusions of greatness, wealth, etc.

an obsession with doing extravagant or grand things.

Origin

1885-90; megalo- + -mania

Examples from the web for megalomania

McCall seems to have a special place in his demolition kit for megalomania, of both the imperial and technological variety.
There is a fine line between selling yourself and megalomania, and this guy leaped over it.
In the 1960s, one French politician accused it of “morbid megalomania”.
He also displayed a certain flair for megalomania.
Drooling over racks of totalitarian resort finery, I succumbed to delusions of megalomania.
Jackson's transparent megalomania and obsession with commercial stature and glory have become the enemies of his art.
My megalomania is not egocentric.
In Chaplin's satiric film the globe is a balloon, an emblem of megalomania, which suddenly bursts in the fictional tyrant's face.
People in the second group have a slight case of megalomania.

British Dictionary definitions for megalomania

/ˌmɛɡələʊˈmeɪnɪə/

noun

a mental illness characterized by delusions of grandeur, power, wealth, etc

(informal) a lust or craving for power

Derived Forms

megalomaniac, adjective, noun
megalomaniacal (ˌmɛɡələʊməˈnaɪəkəl) adjective

Word Origin and History for megalomania

"delusions of greatness," 1866, from French mégalomanie; see megalo- + mania "madness."

megalomania in Medicine

megalomania meg·a·lo·ma·ni·a (měg'ə-lō-mā'nē-ə, -mān'yə)
n.

A psychopathological condition in which delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence predominate.
An obsession with grandiose or extravagant things or actions.

meg'a·lo·ma'ni·ac' n.
meg'a·lo·ma·ni'a·cal (-mə-nī'ə-kəl) or meg'a·lo·man'ic (-mān'ĭk) adj.

megalomania in Culture

megalomania [(meg-uh-loh-may-nee-uh)]

Delusions of grandeur; an extreme form of egotism. Adolf Hitler is generally considered to have been a megalomaniac.