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Hubris Comes From Ancient Greece
English picked up both the concept of hubris and the term for that particular brand of cockiness from the ancient Greeks, who considered hubris a dangerous character flaw capable of provoking the wrath of the gods. In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a fatal shortcoming that brought about the fall of the tragic hero. Typically, overconfidence led the hero to attempt to overstep the boundaries of human limitations and assume a godlike status, and the gods inevitably humbled the offender with a sharp reminder of their mortality.
Examples of hubris in a Sentence
Simon Winchester, The Professor and the Madman, 1998
If you were born Somewhere, hubris would come easy. But if you are Nowhere's child, hubris is an import, pride a thing you decide to acquire.
—Sarah Vowell, GQ, May 1998
… our belief in democracy regardless of local conditions amounts to cultural hubris.
—Robert D. Kaplan, Atlantic, December 1997
His failure was brought on by his hubris.
Ariel Sabar, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2024
CalMatters With all the hubris of a startup founder, Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District, took to the stage in March to launch Ed the chatbot.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 6 Aug. 2024
Whether led by great hubris or sweet naivete, Treadwell ignored all common sense and conventional wisdom about the animals and began to consider them as friends.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2024
But that ultimately is some form of control and some hubris and ego on my part.
—Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 8 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hubris 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hubris.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Hubris.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hubris. Accessed 8 Sep. 2024.
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