conceit

American  

[kuhn-seet] / kənˈsit /

noun

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

Related Words

See pride.

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

“This is Bob Dylan with ‘The Disease of Conceit.’

From Washington Times • Jun. 18, 2020

He added: “Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-made. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 29, 2018

For Rajan Menon, author of The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention, the main barrier to peace is the fact that “society has no skin in the game of war in this country.”

From Slate • Apr. 24, 2017

Try the Road to Serfdom, and if you've read that, the Fatal Conceit.

From Economist • Dec. 18, 2013

But I may fairly say of this Author, as Falstaffe does of Poins;—Hang him, Baboon! his Wit is as thick as Tewksbury Mustard; there is no more Conceit in him, than is in a Mallet.

From Eighteenth Century Essays on Shakespeare by Smith, David Nichol

Related Words

• arrogance