CONCEIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does conceit mean? 

• CONCEIT (noun)
  The noun CONCEIT has 5 senses:

1. feelings of excessive pride

2. an elaborate poetic image or a far-fetched comparison of very dissimilar things

3. a witty or ingenious turn of phrase

4. an artistic device or effect

5. the trait of being unduly vain and conceited; false pride

  Familiarity information: CONCEIT used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONCEIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feelings of excessive pride

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

amour propre; conceit; self-love; vanity

Hypernyms ("conceit" is a kind of...):

pride; pridefulness (a feeling of self-respect and personal worth)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An elaborate poetic image or a far-fetched comparison of very dissimilar things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("conceit" is a kind of...):

figure; figure of speech; image; trope (language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A witty or ingenious turn of phrase

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

he could always come up with some inspired off-the-wall conceit

Hypernyms ("conceit" is a kind of...):

turn of expression; turn of phrase (a distinctive spoken or written expression)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An artistic device or effect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

the architect's brilliant conceit was to build the house around the tree

Hypernyms ("conceit" is a kind of...):

device (something in an artistic work designed to achieve a particular effect)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The trait of being unduly vain and conceited; false pride

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

conceit; conceitedness; vanity

Hypernyms ("conceit" is a kind of...):

trait (a distinguishing feature of your personal nature)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "conceit"):

narcism; narcissism; self-love (an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself)

boastfulness; vainglory (outspoken conceit)

egotism; self-importance; swelled head (an exaggerated opinion of your own importance)

posturing (adopting a vain conceited posture)

Antonym:

humility (a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride)

 Context examples 

You have a good many little gifts and virtues, but there is no need of parading them, for conceit spoils the finest genius.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Hartfield will only put her out of conceit with all the other places she belongs to.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

His oily, insinuating tones, his greasy smile and his monstrous self-conceit grated on my nerves till sometimes I was all in a tremble.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He laughed sonorously at his own conceit, for, though he had little sense of humor, the crudest pleasantry from his own lips moved him always to roars of appreciation.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And, if I may mention so delicate a subject, endeavour to check that little something, bordering on conceit and impertinence, which your lady possesses.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Small conceits are intolerable, but when they are pushed to the uttermost they become respectable.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“No, it is not selfishness or conceit,” said he, answering, as was his wont, my thoughts rather than my words.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"We've had this western conceit that complex civilizations can't flourish in the tropics, that the tropics are where civilizations go to die," Canuto told National Geographic.

(Hidden Mayan Civilization Revealed in Guatemala Jungle, VOA)

At times his mind wandered farther afield, and he plodded on, a mere automaton, strange conceits and whimsicalities gnawing at his brain like worms.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

However, said my aunt, I don't want to put two young creatures out of conceit with themselves, or to make them unhappy; so, though it is a girl and boy attachment, and girl and boy attachments very often—mind!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)