conceited
Americanadjective
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having an excessively favorable opinion of one's abilities, appearance, etc.
- Synonyms:
- self-satisfied, self-important, egotistic, proud, vain
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Archaic.
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having an opinion.
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fanciful; whimsical.
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Obsolete. intelligent; clever.
adjective
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having a high or exaggerated opinion of oneself or one's accomplishments
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archaic fanciful
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obsolete witty or intelligent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of conceited
Explanation
A conceited person has an inflated self-image and perceives himself as incredibly entertaining and wonderful. Talk incessantly about your accomplishments on the clarinet or amazing ability to wiggle your ears, and people are going to think you’re conceited. An offshoot of conceit, conceited was first recorded in 1600 as meaning “having an overwhelming opinion of oneself.” It’s a shortened form of “self-conceited” and the total opposite of "modest." In a remark about such vain people, the English Victorian novelist George Eliot once said, “I've never any pity for conceited people, because I think they carry their comfort about with them.”
Vocabulary lists containing conceited
ASVAB Word Knowledge
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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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.
Smug, as we use it as a synonym for conceited or self-righteous, emerged from its earlier sense of “neat and trim,” which is exactly the ideal of a pert bump.
From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025
“Maybe I’m being conceited, but I believe we may have stumbled into a new sound,” he enthuses.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2024
In the 1991 comedy film, Richard Dreyfuss plays Leo Marvin, a conceited psychiatrist who is driven mad by new, paranoid patient Bob Wiley, played by Bill Murray.
From Washington Times • Oct. 29, 2023
“It was the wildest experience I’ve ever done as an actor and kind of one of the most rewarding experiences,” says James Marsden, who plays a horribly conceited version of himself as a juror.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 4, 2023
He can be a difficult man—self-centered and selfish, brash and conceited.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
