vainglory
Americannoun
-
excessive elation or pride over one's own achievements, abilities, etc.; boastful vanity.
- Antonyms:
- humility
-
empty pomp or show.
- Synonyms:
- ostentation
noun
-
boastfulness or vanity
-
ostentation
Related Words
See pride.
Etymology
Origin of vainglory
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English vainglorie, vein glorie, from Old French vaine gloiri, from translation of Latin vāna glōria “empty glory”; ( see vain, glory)
Explanation
Vainglory is a quality possessed by people who are conceited, boastful, and full of themselves. It's an ugly trait. The two halves of this word pretty much define it. Vain people have an overly high opinion of themselves, and glory is an extreme amount of attention or fame. Vainglory is possessed by people who are vain and like to glorify themselves: they're cocky and egotistical. Anyone who always tells you about how smart, attractive, or successful they are is displaying vainglory. Vainglory is the opposite of humility.
Vocabulary lists containing vainglory
The Souls of Black Folk
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The Duchess of Malfi
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Fallout
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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.
That’s the mantra for wide receivers, a group long known for their vainglory.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2023
During his year “in-country,” he witnessed truly surreal incompetence, obtuseness, irrationality, waste and lethal vainglory.
From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2021
Tseng told them it would look as if it were billowing in the wind, but the flag just looks abused, and the men in front of it appear puffed with vainglory.
From The New Yorker • Jun. 23, 2019
So it was not just vainglory to dub the concert “The Last Waltz”: This really was the end of something.
From Salon • Nov. 19, 2016
“Vanity, vainglory, dissatisfaction with my work,” he told the court, “and love of an easy life led me to the criminal path.”
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
