Vanity Fair

noun

1. (in Bunyan's Pilgrim'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.

Vanity Fair

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

Vanity Fair

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Vanity Fair¹

from Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress

Example Sentences

Texas flower shop owner Jenny Louise Cudd, who complained to Vanity Fair she was “canceled,” asked the court to allow her to go on vacation to Mexico.

From Washington Post

In 2017, in an article titled “Kafka in Vegas,” ProPublica and Vanity Fair investigated Steese’s case and the serial misconduct of the prosecutors who withheld evidence that proved his alibi.

From ProPublica

In fact, Nasr, 50, assumed she’d reached her final stop as the fashion director of Vanity Fair under another groundbreaking editor, Radhika Jones, who is the first person of color at its helm.

From Washington Post

The urgency surrounding that question has lessened to an extent, according to Vanity Fair.

From Digiday

Washington’s first book, “Lot,” his acclaimed 2019 short story collection, was a New York Times Notable Book and on the best-of-the-year lists of Vanity Fair, NPR, and other outlets.

From Washington Blade

Vicky Ward was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair for 11 years.

From The Daily Beast

In a hot-button cover story interview with Vanity Fair, Lawrence explained it best.

From The Daily Beast

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Diez said he married the duchess for love, not money.

From The Daily Beast

“What The Little Mermaid Taught Us About Being Grown-Ups,” Vanity Fair commemorated in a GIF-laden post.

From The Daily Beast

Are the guys from Vanity Fair and Time battling it out and trying to get gangster with each other?

From The Daily Beast

People often use the name Vanity Fair to describe a frivolous way of life.

From Project Gutenberg

She loafed about and observed, with Vanity Fair under one arm and an apple in the other hand.

From Project Gutenberg

This poet was one of the merry company in the days when he wrote regularly for the columns of Vanity Fair.

From Project Gutenberg

The best sermon ever preached upon society, within our knowledge, is Vanity Fair.

From Project Gutenberg

Tommy Drew, who had a desk in the same office, read Vanity Fair and wanted to talk about it.

From Project Gutenberg