proud
Americanadjective
-
prouder,
comparative
-
proudest
superlative
-
feeling pleasure or satisfaction over something regarded as highly honorable or creditable to oneself (often followed by of, an infinitive, or a clause).
- Synonyms:
- self-satisfied, contented
- Antonyms:
- dissatisfied
-
having, proceeding from, or showing a high opinion of one's own dignity, importance, or superiority.
- Synonyms:
- presumptuous, imperious, disdainful, self-important, overbearing
- Antonyms:
- humble
-
having or showing self-respect or self-esteem.
-
highly gratifying to the feelings or self-esteem.
It was a proud day for him when his son entered college.
-
highly honorable or creditable.
a proud achievement.
- Antonyms:
- dishonorable
-
stately, majestic, or magnificent.
proud cities.
- Antonyms:
- lowly, impoverished, mean
-
of lofty dignity or distinction.
a proud name; proud nobles.
-
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. pleased; happy.
I'm proud to meet you.
-
full of vigor and spirit.
a proud young stallion.
-
Obsolete. brave.
idioms
adjective
-
pleased or satisfied, as with oneself, one's possessions, achievements, etc, or with another person, his or her achievements, qualities, etc
-
feeling honoured or gratified by or as if by some distinction
-
having an inordinately high opinion of oneself; arrogant or haughty
-
characterized by or proceeding from a sense of pride
a proud moment
-
having a proper sense of self-respect
-
stately or distinguished
-
bold or fearless
-
(of a surface, edge, etc) projecting or protruding from the surrounding area
-
(of animals) restive or excited, esp sexually; on heat
adverb
Synonym Usage
Proud, arrogant, haughty imply a consciousness of, or a belief in, one's superiority in some respect. Proud implies sensitiveness, lofty self-respect, or jealous preservation of one's dignity, station, and the like. It may refer to an affectionate admiration of or a justifiable pride concerning someone else: proud of his son. Arrogant applies to insolent or overbearing behavior, arising from an exaggerated belief in one's importance: arrogant rudeness. Haughty implies lofty reserve and confident, often disdainful assumption of superiority over others: the haughty manner of the butler in the play.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of proud
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English prūd, prūt “arrogant” (cognate with Old Norse prūthr “stately, fine”), apparently from Vulgar Latin; compare Old French prud, prod “gallant, virtuous,” Late Latin prōde “profitable, useful,” from prōde est, back formation of Latin prōdest “it is beneficial, useful,” from Latin prōdesse “to be useful, profit”
Explanation
When you are proud, you are feeling pride, or satisfaction with yourself. The word proud can also mean too much of this feeling––sometimes saying someone is proud is the same as saying they're arrogant. It's also possible to feel proud of someone else. If your best friend gets the lead in the school play, you may find yourself feeling as happy for him as if you'd got the lead yourself. When you graduate from college, your "proud parents" will want to be there to watch. The maxim "Pride comes before a fall" plays on the fact that when you are proud of what you have, you are also at risk: having something means you have something to lose.
Vocabulary lists containing proud
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 4
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"Death, be not proud" by John Donne
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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.
See Examples For:
She previously dismissed a call from the DUP to resign over her role in protests telling the assembly she was "proud" to stand with the residents and "will continue to stand with them".
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
"I'm so proud of the track," said Star.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
Musk’s forthright, crusty dad Errol sounds almost proud that something was bullied out of his son, but the movie avoids filling out that traumatic childhood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
“We’re extremely proud of these Star Ratings,” Chief Executive Jim Rechtin said, attributing the improvement to employees’ efforts to provide members with high-quality care and coordinated support.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
She was proud of herself for remembering to use the official airline-sanctioned word for unloading.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Dietrich was Hollywood’s greatest seductress, with conquests galore, male and female, but she was prouder of helping the war effort during World War II as a performer and war-bonds promoter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
He may soon be prouder still: At Sardy’s studio, Ness says he’s been working on a song he plans to release in the run-up to this fall’s midterm elections.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
I was proud of him for pivoting to pizza, prouder still for how, as we were heading home, he told me that he felt “peaceful, happy, confident, and love.”
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
"I could not be prouder of having the Mavericks come to Macao," Dumont said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 5, 2026
Betsy was his cow, but neither of us would have been prouder of that outsized calf had it been a child.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
“The episodes I was proudest of were where you dug something out from inside of your history and your heart.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
"It wouldn't by my proudest way of winning it, but it's job done," said Evans.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
His proudest contribution was creating the framework for the union’s first medical plan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Then there is her Imagination Library, which has reportedly distributed over 300 million books to children around the world since its launch in the late 1980s — an effort Dolly counted as her proudest achievement.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Mom was a proud black woman, the proudest I knew.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
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.
