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

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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

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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

Listed like that, the conceit doesn’t sound very engaging, but the reality is far different.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

While it has received a number of rave reviews, critics have called narrative art a false conceit and argued that the juxtaposition of masterworks with pop culture ephemera does not work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

What to know: The repetitive title of this thriller starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan speaks to the show’s conceit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

That conceit ended up an unsubtle but no less effective metaphor for our new Gilded Age.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

Fulfillment, I’m sure, struck her as a rich person’s conceit.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Mr. Oppenheim calls his movie “journalism,” but the term is correct only if he means a stringing-together of narrative conceits to meet the journalist’s emotional needs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

He followed it with a succession of intensely theatrical divertissements, often revolving around unexpected intellectual conceits or bizarre juxtapositions and featuring brilliant dialogue, puns, repartee, double meanings and misunderstandings.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025

As with most sequels, it is — almost by definition — less essential than the original, whose conceits and M.C.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2024

“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

The most grotesque and fantastic conceits haunted him in his bed at night.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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