Grandiose

Grandiose is an adjective describing something that appears impressively grand, magnificent, or ambitiously large, often to an excessive or self-important degree. It can refer to objects, plans, or statements that are grand in scale but may seem inflated or pretentious. The word carries a negative or critical connotation when used to imply ostentation, pretension, or lacking substance. It is sometimes used in neutral contexts to describe architecture, art, or rhetoric that aims to be striking or ceremonial. Etymology: from French grandiose, from Latin grandiosus, combining grand- “great” with the suffix -osus meaning “full of.”

In psychology, grandiose or grandiosity denotes an inflated sense of worth, power, knowledge, or special status. Grandiose delusions are fixed beliefs that one possesses extraordinary abilities or is connected to important entities or events, not grounded in reality. They can appear in conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder with psychotic features, schizoaffective disorder, and certain personality disorders, particularly narcissistic personality disorder. Distinguishing grandiosity from healthy ambition or confidence is a clinical task that relies on context, continuity, and corroborating evidence.

In usage, phrases like “grandiose plans,” “grandiose rhetoric,” or “a grandiose undertaking” are common. The term is often subjective, reflecting evaluative judgments about scale, ambition, or taste. Related terms include grandiosity (the noun form), delusions of grandeur, pomp, and ostentation.