conceit — excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements; vanity
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements; vanity
Pronunciation (IPA): /kənˈsiːt/
Example Sentences
- His conceit was so obvious that even his mirror started rolling its eyes.
- The CEO's conceit blinded him to the company's real problems.
- She had the conceit to think she could learn piano in a week.
conceit
NOUN[/kənˈsiːt/]
excessive pride in oneself or one's achievements; vanity
The ordinary man looked in the mirror, but his blind conceit made him see a golden king.
CON(cone) + CEIT(seat) — sitting in the royal CEIT wearing a silly CONe perfectly showed his conceit.
Blinded by his own conceit, the arrogant fighter suffered an immediate defeat.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Derived from Latin 'conceptus' (conceived, conceived idea), the word originally denoted a creative idea or mental conception. Over time, the meaning shifted from neutral intellectual creativity to a pejorative sense of excessive pride or arrogant overestimation of one's own abilities.
Breakdown
con- (together) + capere (to seize, grasp) + -tus (past participle suffix), literally meaning 'seized together' or 'grasped in the mind'—an idea held in thought.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“His conceit was so obvious that even his mirror started rolling its eyes.”
“The CEO's conceit blinded him to the company's real problems.”
“She had the conceit to think she could learn piano in a week.”
“The novel's clever conceit made time travel seem believable.”
📚Related Words
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