hubris

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 28, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>hubris</strong> &#149; \HYOO-bris\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><em>Hubris</em> means "exaggerated pride or confidence."</p> <p>// His failure was brought on by his <em>hubris</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hubris">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Bezos, who softly needled Branson's trip as being a bit too low in altitude to really be called space, scheduled his flight for Tuesday, the anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch. That is <em>hubris</em> of the least subtle kind." — Mitch Albom, <em>The News Herald</em> (Panama City, Florida), 26 July 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>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.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>