pride

[ prahyd ]

/ praɪd /

|||

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noun

a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

the state or feeling of being proud.

a becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self-respect; self-esteem.

pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself: civic pride.

something that causes a person or persons to be proud: His art collection was the pride of the family.

the best of a group, class, society, etc.: This bull is the pride of the herd.

the most flourishing state or period: in the pride of adulthood.

mettle in a horse.

Literary. splendor, magnificence, or pomp.

a group of lions.

sexual desire, especially in a female animal.

ornament or adornment.

verb (used with object), prid·ed, prid·ing.

to indulge or plume (oneself) in a feeling of pride (usually followed by on or upon): She prides herself on her tennis.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

prickly pear, prickly poppy, prickspur, pricky, pricy, pride, pride and joy, pride and prejudice, pride goeth before a fall, pride of china, pride of place

Idioms

pride and joy, someone or something cherished, valued, or enjoyed above all others: Their new grandchild is their pride and joy.

Origin of pride

before 1000; Middle English (noun); Old English prȳde (cognate with Old Norse prȳthi bravery, pomp), derivative of prūd proud

SYNONYMS FOR pride

1 Pride, conceit, self-esteem, egotism, vanity, vainglory imply an unduly favorable idea of one's own appearance, advantages, achievements, etc., and often apply to offensive characteristics. Pride is a lofty and often arrogant assumption of superiority in some respect: Pride must have a fall. Conceit implies an exaggerated estimate of one's own abilities or attainments, together with pride: blinded by conceit. Self-esteem may imply an estimate of oneself that is higher than that held by others: a ridiculous self-esteem. Egotism implies an excessive preoccupation with oneself or with one's own concerns, usually but not always accompanied by pride or conceit: His egotism blinded him to others' difficulties. Vanity implies self-admiration and an excessive desire to be admired by others: His vanity was easily flattered. Vainglory, somewhat literary, implies an inordinate and therefore empty or unjustified pride: puffed up by vainglory.

5 boast.

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ANTONYMS FOR pride

1 humility.

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Related forms

pride·ful, adjectivepride·ful·ly, adverbpride·ful·ness, nounpride·less, adjective

pride·less·ly, adverbun·pride·ful, adjectiveun·pride·ful·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for prideful

His harshest words of criticism were aimed at those who were prideful.
June, The Month When Pride Isn’t a Sin|Gene Robinson|June 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An early Zionist leader, prideful, pugnacious, Ussishkin headed the Jewish National Fund for nearly 20 years.
Yeshayahu Leibowitz Is Not The Name Of A Street|Gershom Gorenberg|April 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Instead, it is prideful ignorance—an eagerness to go off the fiscal cliff to show the world that gravity does not exist.
GOP’s Debt Kamikazes|John Avlon|July 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
One of the central reasons entrepreneurial capitalism works well is that humans are a prideful species.
Let Them Say F--k|Reihan Salam|August 1, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Cab drivers hailed him as a likely fare, to his prideful content.
Sixes and Sevens|O. Henry
Evidently he was a prideful little man, and liked to see things done in a seamanlike manner.
Kindred of the Dust|Peter B. Kyne
But they were safe, and in a prideful, self-conscious, young-mother way she began to wash the five.
Roof and Meadow|Dallas Lore Sharp
"And there ain't another like it in the whole world," went on the prideful Hodges.
The Dorrance Domain|Carolyn Wells
"You can revile me as much as you like now, Nan," he said, with prideful humility.
The Quickening|Francis Lynde

British Dictionary definitions for prideful (1 of 2)

Pride

/ (praɪd) /

noun

Thomas. died 1658, English soldier on the Parliamentary side during the Civil War. He expelled members of the Long Parliament hostile to the army (Pride's Purge, 1648) and signed Charles I's death warrant

British Dictionary definitions for prideful (2 of 2)

pride

/ (praɪd) /

noun

a feeling of honour and self-respect; a sense of personal worth

excessive self-esteem; conceit

a source of pride

satisfaction or pleasure taken in one's own or another's success, achievements, etc (esp in the phrase take (a) pride in)

the better or most superior part of something; flower

the most flourishing time

a group (of lions)

the mettle of a horse; courage; spirit

archaic sexual desire, esp in a female animal

archaic display, pomp, or splendour

pride of place the most important position

verb

(tr; foll by on or upon) to take pride in (oneself) for

(intr) to glory or revel (in)

Derived Formsprideful, adjectivepridefully, adverb

Word Origin for pride

Old English prӯda; related to Latin prodesse to be useful, Old Norse prūthr stately; see proud

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for prideful (1 of 3)

prideful

adj.

c.1500, from pride (n.) + -ful. Related: Pridefully; pridefulness. Old English had prutswongor "overburdened with pride."

Word Origin and History for prideful (1 of 3)

pride

late Old English pryto, Kentish prede, Mercian pride "pride, haughtiness, pomp," from prud (see proud). There is debate whether Scandinavian cognates (Old Norse pryði, Old Swedish prydhe , Danish pryd, etc.) are borrowed from Old French (from Germanic) or from Old English. Meaning "that which makes a person or people most proud" is from c.1300. First applied to groups of lions late 15c., but not commonly so used until c.1930. Paired with prejudice from 1610s.

Word Origin and History for prideful (2 of 3)

pride

mid-12c. in the reflexive sense "congratulate (oneself), be proud," c.1200 as "be arrogant, act haughtily," from pride (n.). Related: Prided; priding.

Idioms and Phrases with prideful

pride

In addition to the idioms beginning with pride

pride and joy
pride of place
pride oneself on

also see:

burst with (pride)
swallow one's pride