Meaning of Napoleon complex | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Alternative spelling of Napoleon complex.
   alt-of, alternative, no-plural
2. Aggressive or domineering behaviour, claimed to be a form of psychological compensation for one's short physical stature.
   derogatory

Equivalents

Examples

“The quality of the driving seems to be inversely proportional to the size of the car, the worst drivers being in the smallest cars, the Renault 5s and the Peugeot 205s. Do French cars also have a Napoléon complex?”

“Said Rocco, “He had that Napoléon complex, because he was short.””

“He was a good-looking guy who suffered a bit of a Napoléon complex—he was short in stature but loud.”

“I left her there, crying softly in the doorway of a home filled with bitter old women, an egotistical, abusive husband, and one musclehead with a Napoléon complex, currently cleaning tomato aspic out of his ears.”

“He also teased the shorter men of having a Napoléon complex and teased the women for never wearing make-up.”

“Dodson, who’d actually consulted reference books for the diagnosis, decided Monkton’s behavior was a classic example of a Napoléon complex, the insignificantly small man’s constant need to bully.”

“Then they had sex, and “I realized he wasn’t kidding,” she says, “and therein lies his Napoléon complex. It was so small that to this day, I’ve never again encountered anything like it.[…]” […] In another interview, Terry [Richardson] admitted, “I inherited all the schizophrenia, depression, anxieties, and a Napoléon complex, even though we’re both six feet tall.””

“Slaves are ‘reasonable’ in their assessments of relative capacities and would diagnose such a masterly type as suffering from a Napoléon complex. […] However, it is also possible that, like the individual who from the slavish perspective ‘suffers’ from a Napoléon complex, the Master fails to recognize the ‘reasonable’ limits of the particular circumstances.”

““I think Elvis has a Napoléon complex.” “No, he doesn’t,” Pappy said. “He does. He won’t behave. He does whatever gets into his head. He comes in when he wants, he goes out when he wants, eats when he wants.””

“In November 1939’s Detective Comics #33, Batman tackles the Dirigible of Doom—an airship armed with a death ray and piloted by a madman with a Napoléon complex.”

““So what’s Franz like?” Tom asked. “A shrimp. Napoléon complex. Reactive.[…]””

“[Art] Garfunkel returned a year later in an interview with Nigel Farndale of the Sunday Telegraph in England in which he was asked whether Paul [Simon] might have a Napoléon complex; was there a height thing between them?”

““I thought you’d be shorter. Pirates usually have a Napoléon complex.””

“The Dwarf especially enjoyed getting in close and eviscerating his victims, and he always went over the top. His face showed a millennium of scars endured from getting into the muck with his enemies. It was clinical Napoléon complex behavior.”

CEFR level