1
as in proud
having or displaying feelings of scorn for what is regarded as beneath oneself
prideful intellectuals long considered rock music unworthy of serious study
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
at the wedding the prideful snobs ignored their poor relations
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in triumphant
having or expressing feelings of joy or triumph
flashed a prideful smile as she received her college diploma
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prideful
Remember the Icy Hot spread thick across our parents’ prideful backs after a twelve hour shift at work.
—
Yesika Salgado, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
The former Iranian diplomat Hossein Mousavian once scolded Americans for failing to realize that his people are prideful and vain, and that negotiations meant to humiliate and insult them won’t get far.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2026
After a scoreless first period, the defending Olympic gold medalists, too prideful to roll over, got on the scoreboard first.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
When Harper lays out the fund’s findings about Tender in an explosive speech at a financial conference, the camera pans to a prideful Eric, beaming and nearly paternal in his freudenfreude.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prideful
Yesika Salgado, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2026
The former Iranian diplomat Hossein Mousavian once scolded Americans for failing to realize that his people are prideful and vain, and that negotiations meant to humiliate and insult them won’t get far.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2026
After a scoreless first period, the defending Olympic gold medalists, too prideful to roll over, got on the scoreboard first.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
When Harper lays out the fund’s findings about Tender in an explosive speech at a financial conference, the camera pans to a prideful Eric, beaming and nearly paternal in his freudenfreude.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 15 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prideful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prideful
Adjective
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Citadel is proud not to have a touchy-feely atmosphere.—
Gary Sernovitz,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
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From a family cooking class to golf-watching gatherings, these 28 Father’s Day celebrations are sure to make dad proud.—
Samantha Nelson,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2026
Adjective
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Most smug articles and books that claim to provide quick fixes come off as tone-deaf or even counterproductive.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2026
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But the series’ central character, played by Rachel Weisz, has enough nervous, itchy, manic energy to make the show’s narrative structure feel purposely unstable rather than safely smug.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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In an instant – or rather, through a grueling, ugly, then gritty, then triumphant Game 5 – that temporal distance is temporarily undone.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
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Thomas Little’s life story was once one of triumphant persistence only to be replaced by the too-common tale of a spiral into imprisonment and deadly gun violence.—
Julian Roberts-Grmela,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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The two roles underline the actor’s formidable versatility, all skittish panic in the former and arrogant sociopathy in the other.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
13 June 2026
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Washington State’s beauty is almost arrogant in its expansiveness.—
C Pam Zhang,
Travel + Leisure,
11 June 2026
Adjective
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Avoid Burying Praise in Negatives To avoid making children too conceited, parents might bury praise in the midst of negatives.—
Wayne Parker,
Parents,
8 Mar. 2026
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The Pitt definitely feels like the type of workplace where conceited doctors-in-training are pretty much guaranteed to quickly get knocked down a peg.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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As the film’s dance sequences played in front of me before ending in an ecstatic, cathartic rave-release, I was reminded again of that hopeful feeling for what the future may hold.—
Devorah Lauter,
ARTnews.com,
16 June 2026
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Christina Baanders-Decker and her husband, who run Midwest Cyclery in Westport, were ecstatic to learn the Dutch national team would call Kansas City home for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
12 June 2026
Adjective
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For one, Columbus’s face wears the haughtiest, most cocksure expression in Lewis’s body of work.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
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Many of Furgeson’s subjects were displeased by his haughty musings, which would seem less out of place if he was garbed in a royal mantle and wielding a golden scepter.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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Bateman shaped Clark from the page up, recasting a vain TV personality as a wide-eyed innocent who reads Floyd as a big brother.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
12 June 2026
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Three Knights pitchers tried in vain as the Bruins diced up the diamond even though UCF walked UCLA and NCAA home-run leader Megan Grant three times.—
Liana Handler,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prideful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prideful. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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