pride

noun \ ˈprīd \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

Examples: pride in a Sentence

Editor's Note: vanity vs. pride

Definition of pride

1 : the quality or state of being proud: such as

a : inordinate self-esteem : conceit

b : a reasonable or justifiable self-respect

c : delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship

parental pride

2 : proud or disdainful behavior or treatment : disdain

3 a : ostentatious display

b : highest pitch : prime

4 : a source of pride : the best in a group or class

5 : a company of lions

6 : a showy or impressive group

a pride of dancers

See pride defined for English-language learners

See pride defined for kids

Examples of pride in a Sentence

Being able to work again gave him his pride back.
Getting caught cheating stripped him of his pride.
Pride would not allow her to give up.
It's a matter of pride that he does the work all by himself.
The novel is about a family consumed with pride and vanity.
They needed help, but their pride wouldn't let them ask for it.
I had to swallow my pride and admit I made a mistake.
He showed a great pride in his family.
These young people are the pride of their community.

Recent Examples of pride from the Web

The morning after the Warriors swept the Cavs to claim their second straight championship, the Town was still buzzing with Oakland pride as Boots Riley stepped out in the early summer sunshine.

— jen yamato, latimes.com, "Beyond 'Black Panther': Thanks to a wave of homegrown filmmakers, Oakland is having a Hollywood moment," 7 July 2018
Such stories of pride and prejudice are common among nonwhite people in the Deep South.

— richard fausset, New York Times, "Tracing the Roots of South Carolina’s ‘Turks,’ Before They Melt Away," 5 July 2018
Scorpion plays as a series of parables about the wickedness of modern life and its signal sins of greed, vanity, and pride.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Why Drake Can’t Pull Off Being the ‘Good Guy’," 5 July 2018
Three years after revelations of the Dieselgate emissions cheating scandal, the VW brand desperately needs an image upgrade, particularly in its home market of Germany, where the scandal has cut deep into national pride and consumer goodwill.

— dan neil, WSJ, "Volkswagen’s All-Electric Effort to Climb Out of Its P.R. Hole," 4 July 2018
Already eliminated, South Korea were playing only for pride.

— tom philip, GQ, "Every Goal From the 2018 World Cup, Ranked," 2 July 2018
Second, members of a group need to attach pride or significance to their sense of group belonging.

— nicholas t. davis and steven miller, Vox, "Racism and authoritarianism go hand in hand," 2 July 2018
Few celebrity couples have as much pride in their home town and country as Erin and Ben Napier.

— meghan overdeep, Southern Living, "Erin and Ben Napier Share Their Favorite American-Made Products Just in Time for the Fourth of July," 28 June 2018
In an effort to promote civic duty and national pride among the nation’s young people, the French government has put forward a plan to reinstate compulsory national service for all 16-year-olds.

— casey quackenbush, Time, "French President Emmanuel Macron Is Reinstating National Service For all 16-Year-Olds," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pride.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

vanity vs. pride

People often turn to the dictionary in search of the minute and subtle differences between two similar words. The closely related duo of vanity and pride, which overlap significantly in some respects yet differ in others, offer one such example. Putting aside such uses as pride referring to “a company of lions” and vanity meaning “a dressing table,” each of these words may refer to a state of excessive self-esteem. However, pride may also signify a feeling of satisfaction or happiness (either in oneself or on behalf of others) based on something that is well done; vanity is unlikely to be used in this manner. For a well-worded explanation of this distinction, we might look to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, in which the character Mary opines: “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”

Origin and Etymology of pride

Middle English, from Old English prȳde, from prūd proud — more at proud

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

pride Synonyms

pride

verb

Definition of pride

prided; priding

transitive verb

: to indulge (oneself) in pride —now usually used in the phrase pride oneself on to describe taking pride in some ability, quality, etc.

She was a girl who prided herself on her carefully blasé and supercilious attitude towards life.
—P. G. Wodehouse

See pride defined for English-language learners

Examples of pride in a Sentence

he prides himself on the quality of his writing

Recent Examples of pride from the Web

Now) Ex Nihilo makes some of the most unique and obsession-worthy scents around, but the niche French perfume brand prides itself a bit on its exclusivity — not all of its fragrances are available everywhere in the world.

— allure editors, Allure, "The Best New Beauty Products This Month," 9 July 2018
Southern Baptists pride themselves on being independent, democratic, Average Joes who pick their own pastors, no pope telling them what to do.

— author: michelle boorstein, sarah pulliam bailey, Anchorage Daily News, "How women led to the dramatic rise and fall of Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson," 11 June 2018
Southern Baptists pride themselves on being independent, democratic, Average Joes who pick their own pastors, no pope telling them what to do.

— michelle boorstein, The Seattle Times, "Thousands of conservative women behind the fall of Southern Baptists’ Paige Patterson," 10 June 2018
The big box store that prides itself on low prices has launched a not-so-inexpensive digital concierge service.

— chris morris, Fortune, "Walmart's Personal Shopper Service Launches in New York," 1 June 2018
For a country built by immigrants that prides itself in being the land of the free and the home of the brave, the United States surely still has a massive problem with allowing people to freely speak their native tongue.

— refinery29.com, ""This Is America, Speak English": Latinas On The Fear Of Speaking Spanish In Public," 16 May 2018
Deer Park has always prided itself on it's independent business and retail streak.

— y.c. orozco, Houston Chronicle, "What types of businesses want to come to Deer Park?," 15 Feb. 2018
Best Buy is an omnichannel retailer and prides itself on its investment in its stores.

— elizabeth winkler, WSJ, "Best Buy: Don’t Touch That Omnichannel," 25 May 2018
This will make five expendable Falcon 9 launches in a row for SpaceX, which prides itself on developing a reusable rocket.

— eric berger, Ars Technica, "SpaceX has (gasp) expended its fifth Falcon 9 in a row [Updated]," 2 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of pride

13th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

pride Synonyms

Synonyms

flatter, plume;

Related Words

boast, brag, crow, swagger, vaunt;

congratulate, felicitate;

Pride

biographical name \ ˈprīd \

Definition of Pride

Thomas died 1658 English Parliamentarian commander

PRIDE Defined for English Language Learners

pride

noun

Definition of pride for English Language Learners

: a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people
: a feeling that you are more important or better than other people
: a feeling of happiness that you get when you or someone you know does something good, difficult, etc.

PRIDE Defined for Kids

pride

noun \ ˈprīd \

Definition of pride for Students

1 : a reasonable and justifiable feeling of being worthwhile : self-respect

2 : a feeling of being better than others

3 : a sense of pleasure that comes from some act or possession

Parents take pride in their children's progress.

4 : someone or something that makes someone proud

That car is my pride and joy.

pride

verb

Definition of pride for Students

prided; priding

: to feel self-esteem

I pride myself on my accurate spelling.

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See words that rhyme with pride Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for pride Spanish Central: Translation of pride Nglish: Translation of pride for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of pride for Arabic speakers

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pride

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vanity vs. pride

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pride

Definition of pride

Examples of pride in a Sentence

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First Known Use of pride

pride Synonyms

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PRIDE Defined for English Language Learners

pride

Definition of pride for English Language Learners

PRIDE Defined for Kids

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Definition of pride for Students

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