1
a
: favorable opinion
especially
: excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue
… the landlord's conceit of his own superior knowledge … —
Adam Smith
Adam Smith
b(1)
: a result of mental activity : thought
(2)
: individual opinion
2
a
: a fanciful idea
b
: an elaborate or strained metaphor
The poem abounds in metaphysical conceits.
c
: use or presence of such conceits in poetry
d
: an organizing theme or concept
… found his conceit for the film early …—Peter Wilkinson
Peter Wilkinson… the historian's conceit that the past is forever prologue …—Leon V. Sigal
Leon V. Sigal3
: a fancy item or trifle
Conceits were fancy desserts, made either of sugar … or pastry.—Francie Owen
Francie Owen
conceited; conceiting; conceits
1
chiefly dialectal
: imagine
2
dialectal British
: to take a fancy to
3
obsolete
: conceive, understand
Examples of conceit in a Sentence
Noun
His conceit has earned him many enemies.
the conceit that the crowd at the outdoor rock concert was a vast sea of people waving to the beat of the music
Verb
after a huge meal like that, I cannot conceit eating another thing for the rest of the day
Recent Examples on the Web
Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 10 May 2025
In some, the conceit of rational or empirical investigation is coupled with a principle that resists being accounted for in that way: axioms of indifference or exhaustion; rulesof inference;principles of detachment; propertiesof between.
—Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 May 2025
The antique-sounding names and places seem to be a conceit to show that past is prologue.
—Frank Digiacomo, Billboard, 30 Apr. 2025
They’ve been playfully done with conceits like a pommel horse at the end of some beds, table legs wrapped up like vintage tennis racquets, and even wooden climbing racks on the wall.
—Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conceit
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Noun
But then the conceit of casting Enrivo in multiple roles makes this the most Johnson-esque episode of the entire season.
—Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 10 May 2025
In some, the conceit of rational or empirical investigation is coupled with a principle that resists being accounted for in that way: axioms of indifference or exhaustion; rulesof inference;principles of detachment; propertiesof between.
—Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 May 2025
The antique-sounding names and places seem to be a conceit to show that past is prologue.
—Frank Digiacomo, Billboard, 30 Apr. 2025
They’ve been playfully done with conceits like a pommel horse at the end of some beds, table legs wrapped up like vintage tennis racquets, and even wooden climbing racks on the wall.
—Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conceit
Cite this Entry
“Conceit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conceit. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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