egregio

distinguished; eminent

adjective eh-GREH-joh Rare

Origin: Latin egregius (outstanding, from the flock), from e- + grex (flock)

Usage Note

Egregio is a formal honorific used almost exclusively in written correspondence: Egregio Signore ('Dear Sir') opens a formal letter to a man, much like English 'Dear Mr. X.' Outside letters it sounds archaic or ironic. It should not be confused with English 'egregious' (which means outrageously bad) — a classic false friend. Agreement: egregio/egregia/egregi/egregie.

Examples

"Egregio Signore, La ringraziamo per la sua lettera."

Natural Translation

Dear Sir, we thank you for your letter.

Free starter pack

Building your Italian vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Related Words

Explore Italian by topic

ItalianNow

Italian Prepositions: A, In, Di, Da, Su Made Simple

Cities take a, countries take in, origin is di, agents are da. Master the five Italian prepositions a, in, di, da, su and their contractions fast.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

ItalianNow

Italian Numbers 1 to 100: Count Like a Local

Learn Italian numbers 1 to 100 by mastering 0-20, the tens, and 3 spelling rules so you can generate any number from ventuno to novantanove on demand.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Essere vs Avere: Italian Past Tense Made Simple

In the passato prossimo, use avere for most verbs and essere for movement, change, and reflexives — plus the agreement trap English speakers always miss.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Italian Present Tense: -are, -ere, -ire Verbs

Conjugate Italian present-tense verbs fast: one color-coded chart for -are, -ere, and -ire endings, plus the sneaky -isc- group most guides bury.

June 5, 2026 6 min read