vanity

[van-i-tee]

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noun, plural van·i·ties.

excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit: Failure to be elected was a great blow to his vanity.

an instance or display of this quality or feeling.

something about which one is vain or excessively proud: His good looks are his greatest vanity.

lack of real value; hollowness; worthlessness: the vanity of a selfish life.

something worthless, trivial, or pointless.

vanity case.

dressing table.

a wide, counterlike shelf containing a wash basin, as in the bathroom of a hotel or residence, often equipped with shelves, drawers, etc., underneath.

a cabinet built below or around a bathroom sink, primarily to hide exposed pipes.

compact¹(def 13).

adjective

produced as a showcase for one's own talents, especially as a writer, actor, singer, or composer: surprisingly entertaining for a vanity production.

of, relating to, or issued by a vanity press: a spate of vanity books.

Origin of vanity

1200–50; Middle English vanite < Old French < Latin vānitās, equivalent to vān- (see vain) + -itās- -ity

Related formsvan·i·tied, adjective

Synonyms for vanity

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vanity ON THESAURUS.COM

1. egotism, complacency, vainglory, ostentation. See pride. 4. emptiness, sham, unreality, folly, triviality, futility.

Antonyms for vanity

1. humility.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for vanity

pride, arrogance, narcissism, self-love, show, ostentation, pretension, airs, vainglory, affectation, display, conceitedness, smugness, self-worship, self-admiration

Examples from the Web for vanity

Contemporary Examples of vanity

Vicky Ward was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair for 11 years.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003
Vicky Ward
January 7, 2015
In a hot-button cover story interview with Vanity Fair, Lawrence explained it best.
Butts, Brawls, and Bill Cosby: The Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 2014 
Kevin Fallon
December 27, 2014
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Diez said he married the duchess for love, not money.
Adiós to the Diva Duchess
Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 20, 2014
“What The Little Mermaid Taught Us About Being Grown-Ups,” Vanity Fair commemorated in a GIF-laden post.
When the Religious Right Attacked ‘The Little Mermaid’
Asawin Suebsaeng
November 20, 2014
Are the guys from Vanity Fair and Time battling it out and trying to get gangster with each other?
It Was All a Dream: Drama, Bullshit, and the Rebirth of The Source Magazine
Alex Suskind
October 14, 2014

Historical Examples of vanity

Her woman's vanity blossomed deliciously in the atmosphere of a man's love.
Viviette
William J. Locke
And have you not before now said, that nothing is so penetrating as the eye of a lover who has vanity?
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson
Alas, the vanity of mortal projects, even when they centre in the grave!
Other Tales and Sketches
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Her slips with these men wounded Shakespeare's vanity, and he persisted in underrating her.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris
When his vanity was injured, his blindness was almost inconceivable.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris

British Dictionary definitions for vanity

vanity

noun plural -ties

the state or quality of being vain; excessive pride or conceit

ostentation occasioned by ambition or pride

an instance of being vain or something about which one is vain

the state or quality of being valueless, futile, or unreal

something that is worthless or useless

NZ short for vanity unit

Word Origin for vanity

C13: from Old French vanité, from Latin vānitās emptiness, from vānus empty

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 vanity

early 13c., "that which is vain, futile, or worthless," from Old French vanite, from Latin vanitatem (nominative vanitas) "emptiness, foolish pride," from vanus "empty, vain, idle" (see vain). Meaning "self-conceited" is attested from mid-14c. Vanity table is attested from 1936. Vanity Fair is from "Pilgrim's Progress" (1678).