vainglorious

[veyn-glawr-ee-uhs, -glohr-]

adjective

1. filled with or given to vainglory.

   a vainglorious actor.

2. characterized by, showing, or proceeding from vainglory.

   a vainglorious estimate of one's ability.

Other Word Forms

• vaingloriously adverb
• vaingloriousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vainglorious¹

First recorded in 1470–80; vainglory + -ous

Example Sentences

So far, the US president-elect has given very few clues as to how he intends to end the conflict, beyond a typically vainglorious promise to end the war in 24 hours.

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As Charles Foster Kane, a sendup of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, Welles embodied the image of a vainglorious Great Man.

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As the team takes samples to measure water quality, they do not mince their words about the train, calling it a "pharaonic monument" which they say was erected to a vainglorious leader.

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The tragedy is that reality does not care one iota for our vainglorious beliefs.

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The vainglorious financiers will soon have company—namely, deep-sea mining companies seeking to capitalize on society's surging demand for electric vehicles and other ostensibly “green” technologies.

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