Synonyms of conceit

conceit 1 of 2

noun

kən-ˈsēt 

1

as in metaphor

an elaborate or fanciful way of expressing something

the conceit that the crowd at the outdoor rock concert was a vast sea of people waving to the beat of the music

Synonyms & Similar Words

• metaphor
• analogy
• figure of speech
• device
• simile
• euphemism
• circumlocution
• code word
• catachresis
• dead metaphor
• crank
• mixed metaphor

2

as in illusion

a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality

his dream of swimming in the Olympics is nothing more than a conceit

Synonyms & Similar Words

• illusion
• dream
• fantasy
• daydream
• vision
• delusion
• idea
• unreality
• chimera
• hallucination
• phantasm
• pipe dream
• castle in the air
• castle in Spain
• nightmare
• mirage
• figment
• imaging
• nonentity
• fiction
• fancy
• concoction
• fabrication
• visualization
• ignis fatuus
• brainchild
• fable
• utopia
• cloudland
• invention
• will-o'-the-wisp
• cloud-cuckoo-land
• envisaging
• Shangri-la
• daymare

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fact
• reality
• actuality

3

as in vanity

an often unjustified feeling of being pleased with oneself or with one's situation or achievements

even though her novels are enormously popular, the writer is more prone to humility than to conceit

Synonyms & Similar Words

• vanity
• ego
• pridefulness
• pride
• arrogance
• smugness
• egotism
• complacency
• self-conceit
• vainglory
• conceitedness
• pomposity
• self-satisfaction
• self-importance
• vainness
• pompousness
• self-love
• superiority
• complacence
• confidence
• self-congratulation
• self-opinion
• amour propre
• self-admiration
• vaingloriousness
• bighead
• self-glory
• swelled head
• assurance
• self-esteem
• self-assumption
• hubris
• haughtiness
• superciliousness
• self-assurance
• selfishness
• self-confidence
• snobbishness
• self-righteousness
• imperiousness
• overconfidence
• presumption
• swellheadedness
• egoism
• self-assertion
• disdainfulness
• pretension
• lordliness
• pretense
• pretentiousness
• self-respect
• self-pride
• self-centeredness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• humility
• modesty
• diffidence
• humbleness
• altruism
• unselfishness
• timidity
• self-doubt
• shyness
• bashfulness
• passivity
• self-loathing
• demureness
• self-disgust
• self-hate
• passiveness
• timidness

conceit

2 of 2

verb

chiefly dialect

as in to imagine

to form a mental picture of

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• imagine
• envision
• see
• picture
• dream
• fantasy
• vision
• feature
• fancy
• conceive
• fantasize
• visualize
• image
• envisage
• contemplate
• conjure (up)
• plan
• daydream
• ideate
• muse
• reflect
• ponder
• project
• ruminate
• concoct
• foresee
• invent
• relive
• manufacture
• hallucinate
• meditate
• reminisce
• make up
• stargaze
• prefigure
• fabricate
• re-create

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of conceit

Noun

The double, or doppelgänger, is a recurring conceit in myth and literature. — Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026

The conceit — Monroe imagined at the century mark, walking into an audition and finally allowed to speak her mind — arrived nearly whole. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

But the conceit, coupled with an expert but low-key approach to service, works beautifully. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026

We are asked constantly to dilate and contract—to adjust from contemplative darkness to the California sun, from specific detail to overarching conceit, from stillness to activity. — Katy Barkan, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026