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

Curiously, despite the plunderphonic conceit that structures the album, there are few moments that reward the listener for recognizing a pop-culture snippet. — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026

The story’s main conceit was that scientists discover an Earth-like planet directly opposite our own in the same orbit around the sun, always hidden from our vantage point. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2026

The video’s game-show conceit gets an assist from Byrne, whose appearance was Rodrigo’s idea. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 16 Oct. 2026

Others do not, such as the TV show conceit, which, though provocative in theory, will come across to many readers as functionally cosmetic. — Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026