megalomaniac
誇大妄想狂
解説 Definition
自分の力や重要性を極端に過大評価する人。誇大妄想にとらわれた人物。
A megalomaniac is a person who has an extreme desire for power or an exaggerated belief in their own importance and abilities. The word is often used critically for someone who acts as if they are greater than everyone else. It can be used in psychology, but it is also common in everyday speech.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
mega- は megastore, megahit などで「ものすごく大きい・桁外れ」の感覚がある接頭辞。そこに maniac（〜狂、〜に取りつかれた人）を重ねて、「自分は並外れて偉大だ」と思い込む人、とまとめると覚えやすい。単なる self-confident な人ではなく、権力・才能・使命感を誇大にふくらませた危うさがある語。a megalomaniac leader のように、周囲を振り回す独裁的ニュアンスでも出やすい。narcissist は自己愛の強さ、megalomaniac はスケールの誇大さに重点。
Split it into `mega-` and `maniac`. `Mega-` gives the feeling of something huge or extreme, and `maniac` suggests a person obsessed or carried away. That makes it memorable as someone with an oversized sense of power, greatness, or importance.
例文
The CEO was dismissed after being exposed as a megalomaniac who squandered company funds on lavish personal projects.
そのCEOは、贅沢な個人プロジェクトに会社の資金を浪費する誇大妄想狂であることが暴かれ、解任された。
History is full of megalomaniacs who believed they were destined to rule the world.
歴史は世界を支配する運命だと信じた誇大妄想狂であふれている。
The character in the film is a megalomaniac villain who plans to reshape civilization in his image.
その映画の登場人物は、自分の思い通りに文明を作り変えようとする誇大妄想狂の悪役だ。
megalomaniac の類義語・関連語
megalomaniac の語源・成り立ち Etymology
megalomaniacはギリシャ語megalo-「大きい」とmania「狂気、熱中」が合わさった語です。直訳すると「巨大さへの狂気」で、自分を実際以上に大きな存在と思いこむことから「誇大妄想狂」という意味になります。関連語にmegaphone、maniaがあります。
Megalomaniac comes from Greek megalo-, meaning "great" or "large," and mania, meaning madness or frenzy. The word was formed for an obsession with greatness or exaggerated importance. That is why it came to describe a person with grand, inflated ideas about themselves; compare megaphone and mania.
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