ego means the self, especially with a sense of self-importance. It carries an Arena rating of 1637, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ego ranks #1,866 of 17,052 for Most Incisive Words, #3,151 of 17,052 for Scariest Words, #6,631 of 17,052 for Most Elegant Words, #8,015 of 17,052 for The Improbable.
ego is pronounced /ˈiɡo/.
Why “ego” is a great word
The conscious self, mediating between primal desires and external reality, often inflated into a sense of overriding personal importance. From Latin ego ("I"). The psychological sense was established in English in the late 19th century as a translation of Sigmund Freud's use of German Ich ("I"). Unlike "humility," which dissolves the self in service, or the "id," which howls for immediate gratification, the ego is the stern negotiator, the embattled administrator of the person. It is the voice rehearsing a retort in an empty room, the meticulous curation of a life for others to admire, the careful architecture of a presence built from the daily labor of being someone—the fragile, necessary fiction of a coherent "I" standing between the inner animal and the outer world, a membrane through which all our loneliness must pass.
Etymology
From Latin ego (“I”). Chosen by Freud’s translator as a translation of his use of German Ich as a noun for this concept from the pronoun ich (“I”). Doublet of I and Ich.
noun
- The self, especially with a sense of self-importance.
- The most central part of the mind, which mediates with one's surroundings.e.g.“In the well adjusted person the ego is the executive of the personality and is governed by the reality principle.”
- A person's self-esteem and opinion of themselves.e.g.“Too many gay people "come out" publicly, yet fail to achieve truly healthy egos. They "adjust" to being less than whole or integrated persons.”
- The individual from whose point of view a family tree or pedigree chart is drawn, or the reference point from whom kinship terminology is relative. (Used without the definite article the.)e.g.“the cousin of ego on the father's side”
verb
- To damage someone's ego.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.