1
as in metaphors
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
Relevance
2
as in illusions
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in imagines
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of conceits
Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 19 May 2026
Canet has to do some gymnastics to sell several of his conceits, and a few reveals land with the thud of too-easy convenience.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
In those earlier pictures, metaphysical conceits became visual and dramatic gambits as the filmmakers set out to colonize the vast interior worlds of, respectively, the mind and the spirit.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
One of Yellow Letters’s most interesting conceits is that German cities play Turkish ones throughout.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
There’s something about those ideas that are big, silly, cinematic, surreal conceits that drew me in.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Nov. 2025
All the conceits of a true-crime film are there – the lead detective interviews, shaky images from police-cams, the salacious headlines, the nauseating crime scene photos, the TV news reports, teary interviews with friends and family.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
This might actually be the first Yoshi platformer to not fully embrace a unique arts-and-crafts aesthetic in quite some time, considering how much Yoshi's Crafted World and Yoshi's Woolly World leaned fully into their papercraft and yarn conceits, respectively.
—Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 19 May 2026
Canet has to do some gymnastics to sell several of his conceits, and a few reveals land with the thud of too-easy convenience.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
In those earlier pictures, metaphysical conceits became visual and dramatic gambits as the filmmakers set out to colonize the vast interior worlds of, respectively, the mind and the spirit.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
One of Yellow Letters’s most interesting conceits is that German cities play Turkish ones throughout.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
There’s something about those ideas that are big, silly, cinematic, surreal conceits that drew me in.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Nov. 2025
All the conceits of a true-crime film are there – the lead detective interviews, shaky images from police-cams, the salacious headlines, the nauseating crime scene photos, the TV news reports, teary interviews with friends and family.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conceits
Noun
-
Arnold uses different metaphors to describe his feelings about what lies between him and brother.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
-
The songs are representative of teams via lyrics, metaphors and just overall vibes.—
Tamerra Griffin,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Pay attention to what feels heavy or emotionally one-sided right now, because this transit isn’t here to keep up with illusions.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
27 May 2026
-
There is that moment where the illusions crumble, where the masks fall away and what follows is disappointment.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Humanoid robots wearing designer outfits walked alongside human models at a fashion show in Seoul this week, offering a glimpse into how South Korea’s technology industry imagines a future where robots are not just tools, but participants in everyday cultural life.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
30 May 2026
-
The Argentine writer’s short story, first published in 1941, imagines an infinite archive of books in which the alphabet has been configured into every possible combination, resulting in a limitless array of texts meaning everything and nothing.—
Raphael Helfand,
Pitchfork,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Can persuasive storytelling help Americans be more tolerant and accepting of those with different visions for what America ought to be?—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
The bathrooms are visions of black-and-white marble and black tile, appointed with dual-head showers and a brilliant stand-alone mirror that swivels to catch you at every angle.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
What Hill envisions is a continuum of care—therapy and coaching not as competing camps but as complementary services.—
Megan Bruneau,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Warren envisions a stadium just south of the Bears’ current home at Soldier Field, on the site of what is now a parking lot.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Frustrated with her imperfect husband, a tipsy Marge stirs up a trilogy of fantasies of a different Homer.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
28 May 2026
-
These hyperbolic fantasies of socialist surrealism are often exhilarating, but Riley’s wild spectrum of images and ideas doesn’t fit readily into a clear critique.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
This kid just hit the biggest home run of his life — a moment every athlete dreams about — and the umps toss him?—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
-
Now compare that to a couple where one partner dreams of a life of travelling and adventure, while the other desperately wants rootedness and proximity to family.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
The heady scent—a mix of white florals, amber, and sandalwood—induces daydreams of tanning on a white-sand beach.—
Jenny Berg,
Vogue,
27 May 2026
-
Nina, Karen and Caroline started appearing in my daydreams, full of vigor and life lessons.—
Jennifer Acker,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conceits.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conceits. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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