conceit

American  

[kuhn-seet] / kənˈsit /

noun

• conceits
  plural

1. an excessively favorable opinion of one's own ability, importance, wit, etc.

   Synonyms:

   complacency, egotism, vanity, self-esteem

   Antonyms:

   humility

2. something that is conceived in the mind; a thought; idea.

   He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours.

3. imagination; fancy.

4. a fancy; whim; fanciful notion.

5. an elaborate, fanciful metaphor, especially of a strained or far-fetched nature.

6. the use of such metaphors as a literary characteristic, especially in poetry.

7. a fancy, purely decorative article.

8. British Dialect.

   1. favorable opinion; esteem.

   2. personal opinion or estimation.

9. Obsolete. the faculty of conceiving; apprehension.

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verb (used with object)

1. to flatter (especially oneself ).

2. British Dialect. to take a fancy to; have a good opinion of.

3. Obsolete.

   1. to imagine.

   2. to conceive; apprehend.

idioms

1. out of conceit with, displeased or dissatisfied with.

conceit British  

/ kənˈsiːt /

noun

1. a high, often exaggerated, opinion of oneself or one's accomplishments; vanity

2. literary an elaborate image or far-fetched comparison, esp as used by the English Metaphysical poets

3. archaic

   1. a witty expression

   2. fancy; imagination

   3. an idea

4. obsolete a small ornament

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verb

1. dialect to like or be able to bear (something, such as food or drink)

2. obsolete to think or imagine

Synonym Usage

See pride.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• conceits
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conceit

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English conceyte, conceipt, derivative of conceive by analogy with deceive, deceit and receive, receipt; compare Anglo-French conceite; see concept

Explanation

If you’re always boasting and can’t stop talking about yourself, you have that character flaw known as conceit. Your friends — if you have any — may also complain about your arrogance, vanity, and egotism. A conceit can also be an artistic device — probably a little forced — like the plot of a movie built on the conceit of everything that happens being foretold in song. You might find an architectural conceit in a Baroque palace, where you think you’re looking down a long hallway lined with columns, but when you get closer you see that it's really a mural painted in perspective so that the columns only seem to disappear in the distance.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conceit conceits

One day scholars will teach Lepore’s work alongside Arendt’s, seeing that Lepore interrogates not simply a modern moment, but traces our current machine age back to the 17th-century conceit for artifice as improvement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Though framed by a fantastical conceit, “Dear Monica Lewinsky” is at its core a realist novel, influenced by the feminism of #MeToo and precise in its delineation of character and place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

And though “Undertone” makes good use of its podcasting conceit, the format is little more than a crutch for the movie’s narrative to rest on.

From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026

For all the arguments against his central conceit, Mr. Dalrymple has written a spirited and valuable book.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

In his expression Mrs. Johnson saw, or imagined she saw, not gratitude but arrogance, and, in place of pride, immense conceit.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

It’s one of the oldest conceits ever, thinking that vulgarity makes you look tough.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

One of the great conceits of California is its place on the cutting edge — of fashion, culture, technology, politics and other facets of the ways we live and thrive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2025

“Gladiator II” and “Alien: Romulus” are Ridley Scott properties that heavily retread ground covered in the original conceits that inspired them.

From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024

Awarding the show three stars, the Telegraph's Claire Allfree said the "unstable, performative nature of identity, and its analogous resonance for theatre - the ultimate con trick - are familiar conceits".

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2024

“But she is employing the literary conceits and techniques of a novel. And the meeting you speak of has already occurred—you have been reading it for the past quarter of an hour.”

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• arrogance