adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vainglorious
Explanation
If you admire yourself in the mirror all the time and constantly brag about all the beauty contests you have won, you might rightfully get accused of being vainglorious. A vainglorious attitude is not very likable in a person and can be annoying to be around. Vainglorious people are vain, excessively boastful, and have swelled pride. The base word, vainglory, dates all the way back to the 14th century and means “worthless glory.”
Vocabulary lists containing vainglorious
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"Easter, 1916" by W.B. Yeats
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More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Another member calls the group home the House of Vainglorious Delusion.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
Vainglorious comments made by Diogenes when he himself was enslaved—captured and sold by pirates—indicate that even then he saw himself more as master than servant.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025
The bride wore a custom gown with a 10-foot-long train by Selina Howard of Vainglorious Brides, and Mr. Jenkins, a suit from Davidson Petit-Frère.
From New York Times • Oct. 8, 2021
There are plenty of moral, upright, straight-thinking people who couldn't stand her guts any more than they can stomach Bozo the Vainglorious Clown.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2018
Vainglorious bird of Gaul, or of the island contiguous, wait a moment ere you crow before the Mayor of Troy!
From The Mayor of Troy by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
