conceit

¹con·ceit

noun \kən-ˈsēt\

Definition of CONCEIT

1

a (1) : a result of mental activity : thought (2) : individual opinion

b : favorable opinion; especially : excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue

2

: a fancy item or trifle

3

a : a fanciful idea

b : an elaborate or strained metaphor

c : use or presence of such conceits in poetry

d : an organizing theme or concept <found his conceit for the film early — Peter Wilkinson>

Examples of CONCEIT

1. His conceit has earned him many enemies.
2. <the conceit that the crowd at the outdoor rock concert was a vast sea of people waving to the beat of the music>

Origin of CONCEIT

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from conceivre

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to CONCEIT

Synonyms

metaphor, figure of speech

Antonyms

humbleness, humility, modesty

Related Words

device; analogy, circumlocution, code word, crank, dead metaphor, euphemism, simile; catachresis, mixed metaphor

Near Antonyms

actuality, fact, reality

Rhymes with CONCEIT

accrete, aesthete, afreet, athlete, backbeat, backseat, backstreet, bedsheet, bench seat, big beat, bolete, box pleat, box seat, break beat, broadsheet, browbeat, buckwheat, bystreet, call sheet, car seat, cheat sheet, clipsheet, cloud street, cold feet, compete, compleat, complete, concrete, crabmeat, crib sheet, deadbeat, dead heat, dead meat, deceit, defeat, delete, deplete, discreet, discrete, disseat, downbeat, drop seat, drumbeat, dutch treat, effete, elite, en suite, entreat, escheat, excrete, facete, Fleet Street, fly sheet, forcemeat, foresheet, four-peat, gamete, groundsheet, hard wheat, heartbeat, heat-treat, helpmeet, hoofbeat, hot seat, house seat, ice sheet, ill-treat, jump seat, kick pleat, love seat, mainsheet, Main Street, maltreat, mesquite, mincemeat, mistreat, offbeat, Ossete, petite, pink sheet, preheat, rap sheet, receipt, recheat, red heat, red meat, red wheat, regreet, repeat, replete, retreat, scratch sheet, secrete, side street, slip-sheet, soft wheat, spreadsheet, stand treat, swap meet, sweetmeat, tear sheet, terete, three-peat, through street, time sheet, unmeet, unseat, upbeat, vegete, volkslied, white heat

²conceit

transitive verb

Definition of CONCEIT

1

obsolete : conceive, understand

2

chiefly dialect : imagine

3

dialect British : to take a fancy to

Examples of CONCEIT

1. <after a huge meal like that, I cannot conceit eating another thing for the rest of the day>

First Known Use of CONCEIT

1557

Related to CONCEIT

Synonyms

imagine [chiefly dialect], conceive, conjure (up), dream, envisage, envision, fancy, fantasize, fantasy, feature, ideate, image, picture, see, vision, visualize

Related Words

daydream, stargaze; hallucinate; re-create, reflect, relive, reminisce; contemplate, meditate, muse, ponder, ruminate; concoct, fabricate, invent, make up, manufacture, plan, project; foresee, prefigure