vainglorious

American  

[veyn-glawr-ee-uhs, -glohr-] / veɪnˈglɔr i əs, -ˈgloʊr- /

adjective

1. filled with or given to vainglory.

   a vainglorious actor.

2. characterized by, showing, or proceeding from vainglory.

   a vainglorious estimate of one's ability.

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vainglorious British  

/ ˌveɪnˈɡlɔːrɪəs /

adjective

1. boastful or vain; ostentatious

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Other Word Forms

• vaingloriously adverb
• vaingloriousness noun

Etymology

Origin of vainglorious

First recorded in 1470–80; vainglory + -ous

Explanation

If you admire yourself in the mirror all the time and constantly brag about all the beauty contests you have won, you might rightfully get accused of being vainglorious. A vainglorious attitude is not very likable in a person and can be annoying to be around. Vainglorious people are vain, excessively boastful, and have swelled pride. The base word, vainglory, dates all the way back to the 14th century and means “worthless glory.”

Example Sentences

It’s all gotten too ego-driven, too strangely dependent on the magic of personality, too vainglorious and, yes, grandiose.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

On the related but perhaps irrelevant question of individual character, the evidence is clear: Wilhelm II was an unstable and vainglorious idiot who wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026

She’s been warning us since 1818 that vainglorious innovators will destroy the earth.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

As the team takes samples to measure water quality, they do not mince their words about the train, calling it a "pharaonic monument" which they say was erected to a vainglorious leader.

From BBC • Dec. 14, 2023

He loves himself so much that he is startled if he discovers that his victims don’t share his vainglorious self-opinion.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey