Vanity Fair

American  

noun

1. (in Bunyan'sPilgrim's Progress ) a fair that goes on perpetually in the town of Vanity and symbolizes worldly ostentation and frivolity.

2. (often lowercase) any place or group, as the world or fashionable society, characterized by or displaying a preoccupation with idle pleasures or ostentation.

3. (italics) a novel (1847–48) by Thackeray.

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Vanity Fair British  

noun

1. literary (often not capitals) the social life of a community, esp of a great city, or the world in general, considered as symbolizing worldly frivolity

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Vanity Fair Cultural  

1. (1847–1848) A novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. The leading character is Becky Sharp, an unscrupulous woman who gains wealth and influence by her cleverness.

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Etymology

Origin of Vanity Fair

from Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Vanity Fair

During Lynch’s time at the helm, Condé Nast, which owns Vogue, the New Yorker and Vanity Fair, faced challenges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

In December, Vanity Fair published interviews with Wiles in which she gave a blunt - and occasionally unflattering - assessment of her time working in the Trump White House.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The deals bring recognizable digital and print media brands onto Netflix's platform, including Vanity Fair, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Bon Appetit, People and Variety.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

L.A. voters have seen the arrival of AI campaign videos, an influx of dark money mailers and national media coverage from US Weekly, Vanity Fair and many other outlets, thanks in large part to Pratt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026

This was a new city and a foreign country, the city of Vanity Fair and Great Expectations.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

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