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
John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Nov. 2025
But even her most impish conceits are undergirded by a fundamental conviction, a belief in the power of art to wake the dead.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
One of Weapons’ conceits is its chapter structure centering on particular characters, and sources say that Cregger actually had a chapter focused on Gladys and some of her backstory.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 22 Aug. 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
There’s something about those ideas that are big, silly, cinematic, surreal conceits that drew me in.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 24 Nov. 2025
But even her most impish conceits are undergirded by a fundamental conviction, a belief in the power of art to wake the dead.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2025
One of Weapons’ conceits is its chapter structure centering on particular characters, and sources say that Cregger actually had a chapter focused on Gladys and some of her backstory.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 22 Aug. 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
-
At their best, superhero stories can be potent metaphors for tangible human dilemmas.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Ricks’s metaphors are perhaps too much like lightning, more about light than heat.—
Katie Kadue,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Rybakina was under more scoreboard pressure in her service games, but Sabalenka’s opportunities were mostly illusions.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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Saturn brings accountability, Neptune dissolves illusions and Aries demands action.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The historical fiction imagines the Mexican and American armies fighting for control of the West — part myth, fact and fiction spanning the past and present.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Somalia did not always know extremist violence in the way the world imagines today.—
Abdi Nor Iftin,
Time,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Big claims without specifics, such as bold visions with no concrete examples.—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
-
And even the ethical people have differing perspectives—hard-core utilitarians focus on suffering—and then there are people like me who have more ambitious visions.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Fidelity’s O’Reilly, meanwhile, also indicated that the company envisions a role for stablecoins in its trading and retail brokerage operations.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
28 Jan. 2026
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Its home will be the Ten Hotel Gurnee, where Arden envisions regular performances of a variety of orchestra music, from pops to classical, played with dinner accompaniment.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Mauritanian survivor Koumba Diabaté enacts a beat-for-beat recreation of his Casino Royale fantasies in the Imperial Sky Villa of the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.—
Kat Chen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Jan. 2026
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Now, with its fantasies of mass deportation, the British National Party was tapping into a four-hundred-year-old darkness.—
Hari Kunzru,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The film follows Kenji Onishi, a young person who dreams of becoming an idol but struggles with identity under society’s judgmental gaze.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
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Bavi’s character, a rising star in contemporary Denmark who dreams of being an officer, sits at the center of the drama, being the trainee who fires his weapon.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Bob Weir, the singer, songwriter, guitarist, and co-founder of the Grateful Dead, whose songs about sunshine daydreams and truckin’ helped turn the jam band into a 60-year musical empire, has died at age 78.—
Richard Gehr,
Rolling Stone,
10 Jan. 2026
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Alas, my daydreams about adapting an essay from my collection into a limited series TV show turned out to be just that.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Conceits.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conceits. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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