prideful

American  

[prahyd-fuhl] / ˈpraɪd fəl /

adjective

1. thinking too highly of oneself; conceited, arrogant, or overconfident.

   I was too bitter and prideful and didn't think I needed the Addiction Recovery meetings, so I didn’t go.

2. full of a legitimate sense of self-worth or satisfaction because of one’s own or another’s accomplishment.

   It is a prideful moment for us as we congratulate our friend, one of ten winners of the annual Worldwide Robotics contest.

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Other Word Forms

• pridefully
  adverb
• pridefulness
  noun
• unprideful
  adjective
• unpridefully
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of prideful

pride ( def. ) + -ful ( def. )

Explanation

Someone who's prideful is arrogant and disdainful. Prideful people don't usually have many friends, since they think they're superior to everyone else. Although the adjective prideful is occasionally used simply to mean "proud," or pleased and happy because of some achievement or quality, it usually means something closer to "haughty." If you know someone who's beyond proud, believing they're smarter, more beautiful, or just generally better than most other people, you can describe that person as prideful.

Example Sentences

Knoxville was a small but prideful city at the time.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

This is not the time to be prideful about how much stress and responsibility you can take on.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

The depictions of Klingons have shifted over the years, but it’s clear Takei is invoking the more brutal, prideful and authoritarian version introduced in the original series in the 1960s.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2025

Reese, a passionate, prideful forward, immediately got up to yell at her shorter rival.

From Salon • May 28, 2025

“Don’t be puttin’ on any airs, now, gettin’ prideful and all.”

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

• dignified
• proud
• self-respecting
• upstanding