Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

vainglory

[veyn-glawr-ee, -glohr-ee, veyn-glawr-ee, -glohr-ee]
See more synonyms for vainglory on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. excessive elation or pride over one's own achievements, abilities, etc.; boastful vanity.
  2. empty pomp or show.
Show More

Origin of vainglory

1250–1300; Middle English vainglorie, translation of Medieval Latin vāna glōria; see vain, glory

Synonyms

See more synonyms for vainglory on Thesaurus.com
1. See pride. 2. ostentation.

Antonyms

1. humility.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for vainglory

Historical Examples

  • I can say with a clear conscience, without any vainglory, that I had no fears for myself.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • In performing their funerals, they show no state or vainglory.

  • What you tell me will confound the vainglory of our modern sceptics.

    Balthasar

    Anatole France

  • This was the moment of triumph and vainglory to the coachman.

  • "But I'm the worst snag that ever either of you struck," he went on in his vainglory.

    Stingaree

    E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung

British Dictionary definitions for vainglory

vainglory

noun
  1. boastfulness or vanity
  2. ostentation
Show More
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 vainglory

n.

c.1300, "worthless glory," waynglori, from Old French vaine glorie, from Medieval Latin vana gloria (see vain + glory (n.)).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper