Quantcast
 
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

conceit

 - 4 dictionary results
Find Conceit
Huge savings on Conceit: Browse a large selection & grab a bargain!
www.best-price.com/Conceit

con⋅ceit

  [kuhn-seet]
–noun
1. an excessively favorable opinion of one's own ability, importance, wit, etc.
2. something that is conceived in the mind; a thought; idea: He jotted down the conceits of his idle hours.
3. imagination; fancy.
4. a fancy; whim; fanciful notion.
5. an elaborate, fanciful metaphor, esp. of a strained or far-fetched nature.
6. the use of such metaphors as a literary characteristic, esp. in poetry.
7. a fancy, purely decorative article.
8. British Dialect.
a. favorable opinion; esteem.
b. personal opinion or estimation.
9. Obsolete. the faculty of conceiving; apprehension.
–verb (used with object)
10. to flatter (esp. oneself).
11. British Dialect. to take a fancy to; have a good opinion of.
12. Obsolete.
a. to imagine.
b. to conceive; apprehend.
—Idiom
13. out of conceit with, displeased or dissatisfied with.
Use conceit in a Sentence
Origin:
1350–1400; ME conceyte, conceipt, deriv. of conceive by analogy with deceive, deceit and receive, receipt; cf. AF conceite; see concept

Synonyms:
1. self-esteem, vanity, egotism, complacency. See pride.

Antonyms:
1. humility.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To conceit
Find Conceit
Huge savings on Conceit: Browse a large selection & grab a bargain!
www.best-price.com/Conceit
con·ceit   (kən-sēt')   
n.  

  1. A favorable and especially unduly high opinion of one's own abilities or worth.

  2. An ingenious or witty turn of phrase or thought.

    1. A fanciful poetic image, especially an elaborate or exaggerated comparison.

    2. A poem or passage consisting of such an image.

    3. The result of intellectual activity; a thought or an opinion.

    4. A fanciful thought or idea.

    5. A fancy article; a knickknack.

    6. An extravagant, fanciful, and elaborate construction or structure: "An eccentric addition to the lobby is a life-size wooden horse, a 19th century conceit" (Mimi Sheraton).

    1. The result of intellectual activity; a thought or an opinion.

    2. A fanciful thought or idea.

    3. A fancy article; a knickknack.

    4. An extravagant, fanciful, and elaborate construction or structure: "An eccentric addition to the lobby is a life-size wooden horse, a 19th century conceit" (Mimi Sheraton).

    1. A fancy article; a knickknack.

    2. An extravagant, fanciful, and elaborate construction or structure: "An eccentric addition to the lobby is a life-size wooden horse, a 19th century conceit" (Mimi Sheraton).

tr.v.   con·ceit·ed, con·ceit·ing, con·ceits

  1. Chiefly British To take a fancy to.

  2. Obsolete To understand; conceive.


[Middle English, mind, conception, from Anglo-Norman conceite, from Late Latin conceptus; see concept.]
Synonyms: These nouns denote excessive high regard for oneself: boasting that reveals conceit; imperturbable egoism; arrogance and egotism that were obvious from her actions; narcissism that shut out everyone else; wounded his vanity by looking in the mirror.
Antonym: humility
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

conceit 
c.1374, from conceiven (see conceive). An Eng. formation based on deceit and receipt. Sense evolved from "something formed in the mind," to "fanciful or witty notion" (1513), to "vanity" (1605) through shortening of self-conceit (1588). Conceited "having an overweening opinion of oneself" is from 1597.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

conceit

figure of speech, usually a simile or metaphor, that forms an extremely ingenious or fanciful parallel between apparently dissimilar or incongruous objects or situations. The Petrarchan conceit, which was especially popular with Renaissance writers of sonnets, is a hyperbolic comparison made generally by a suffering lover of his beautiful and cruel mistress to some physical object-e.g., a tomb, the ocean, the sun. The metaphysical conceit, associated with the Metaphysical poets of the 17th century, is a more intricate and intellectual device. It usually sets up an analogy between one entity's spiritual qualities and an object in the physical world and sometimes controls the whole structure of the poem. For example, in the following stanzas from "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," John Donne compares two lovers' souls to a draftsman's compass:If they be two, they are two soAs stiffe twin compasses are two,Thy soule the fixt foot, makes no showTo move, but doth, if the'other doe.And though it in the center sit,Yet when the other far doth rome,It leanes, and hearkens after it,And growes erect, as that comes home

Learn more about conceit with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see conceit on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
ExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyThe Daily BeastUrbanspoonAsk AnswersBloglinesSendori