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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.

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

"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
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.

Etymology

Origin of Vanity Fair

from Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“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 • Mar. 26, 2026

That got a mention in a Vanity Fair profile of co-founder and CEO Peter Rahal, but little more attention until this month.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Last December, Vanity Fair magazine published interviews with Wiles reflecting on her time working for Trump.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

"I'm looking forward to directing something that I'm not in at all," he told Vanity Fair earlier this year.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

“In high school I read jane Eyre, Vanity Fair, Great Expectations, et cetera,” Immie went on.

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.