Word of the Day

Thursday, July 06, 2006

hubris

\HYOO-bruhs\ , noun;

Overbearing pride or presumption.

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Quotes:

During his long tenure in the financial world, Friedman has watched dozens of his competitors' businesses killed by hubris born of success rather than by unsound business decisions or adverse market conditions.

-- Lisa Endlich, Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success

This is the actor's hubris, to imagine the world possessed of a single, avid eye fixed solely and always on him.

-- John Banville, Eclipse

With dizzying hubris, Shelley elevated the vocation of the poet above that of priest and statesman.

-- Peter Gay, Pleasure Wars

Origin:

Hubris comes from Greek hybris, "excessive pride, wanton violence."