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

Example Sentences

Domingo, who plays Ali on the show, told Vanity Fair in 2024 that Fezco's character was originally going to feature strongly in the series.

From BBC

When Sam Altman arrived in Los Angeles to attend Vanity Fair’s Oscar afterparty earlier this month, his company was just weeks away from being able to license its Sora video-generation tools to Hollywood studios.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet, Vonn would not definitively say that her competitive skiing career is over, during a recent interview with Vanity Fair’s Elise Taylor.

From Los Angeles Times

“I wanted to win the Olympics, and I wanted to win the downhill title, and I was on track to do both of those things,” Vonn told Vanity Fair.

From Los Angeles Times

Vonn did tell Vanity Fair that she’s not crazy about the idea of the catastrophe at the Winter Games being the public’s last impression of her as a skier.

From Los Angeles Times