as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
a vainglorious woman who always insists on being the center of attention
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Recent Examples of vainglorious
Ivy-as-Marilyn is an inconsiderate, amphetamine guzzling faux-intellectual whose devotion to the acting craft is presented as a vainglorious affectation.
—
Greg Evans, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
The name is meant to evoke Theodore Roosevelt’s vainglorious 1898 cavalry charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2025
Daemon, Viserys’s vainglorious younger brother, had married his niece in part as a way to strengthen his own bid for the throne, and Alicent had pushed for the ascension of her immature firstborn, Aegon.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
Debuting March 3, the six-part realpolitik satire, created and executive produced by Succession alum Will Tracy, sees Oscar and Emmy winner Winslet return to HBO in an often hilarious role as the vainglorious Elena.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for vainglorious
Greg Evans, Deadline, 10 Apr. 2025
The name is meant to evoke Theodore Roosevelt’s vainglorious 1898 cavalry charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2025
Daemon, Viserys’s vainglorious younger brother, had married his niece in part as a way to strengthen his own bid for the throne, and Alicent had pushed for the ascension of her immature firstborn, Aegon.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2024
Debuting March 3, the six-part realpolitik satire, created and executive produced by Succession alum Will Tracy, sees Oscar and Emmy winner Winslet return to HBO in an often hilarious role as the vainglorious Elena.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for vainglorious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vainglorious
Adjective
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In Superman, Bennett steps into the shoes of Steve Lombard, the Daily Planet's smug sports reporter.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
28 June 2025
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One of Ferrell’s biggest and best movies was this hilarious racing spoof, which followed the rise and fall and rise of a smug champion racer, his complicated friendship with best pal and fellow racer John C. Reilly, and his rivalry with an effete, snotty Frenchman played by Sacha Baron Cohen.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
In 2022, Ackles joined the cast of Prime Video's The Boys as arrogant superhero Soldier Boy.—
Brianne Tracy,
People.com,
4 July 2025
-
Her larger-than-life ego and past as a shaman make Player 044 come off as arrogant and selfish, getting under just about everyone's skin.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
4 July 2025
Adjective
-
Our more than 18,000 Bombardier employees are proud to welcome this new, important customer to our family.—
Doug Gollan,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
-
Once again, Newsweek is proud to highlight your voices.—
Joshua Sammons,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.—
Lina Ruiz,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 June 2025
-
Some men smeared cedar sap on their faces in a vain effort to repel mosquitoes and deerflies.—
/ CBS News,
CBS News,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
Such an obvious way to exhibit his egotistical personality.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
22 June 2025
-
Responding to questions from defense lawyer Teny Geragos, Jane agreed that Combs became more apologetic and attentive, less egotistical and cold.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
This splendid, wry satire is about a wealthy family, self-important and confident in their morality, whose blithe and bumptious existences are thrown into disarray when their father clandestinely decides to give all their money to charity, and so (in their opinions) completely destroys their lives.—
Literary Hub
July 1,
Literary Hub,
1 July 2025
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It was being painted as an out-of-touch, arcane, and self-important social institution from a bygone era, and was doing very little to dispel that characterization.—
David Rosowsky,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
This is the worst kind of football team: a conceited but objectively mediocre squad.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
The Mercury News,
17 Nov. 2024
-
Rory Kinnear steals some of the best lines as the conceited British prime minister, and Ato Essandoh, as Kate’s deputy chief, plays the ever-flustered man surrounded by extremely capable women with admirable humor, charm, and confidence.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
30 Oct. 2024
Adjective
-
And more than any other animal, cats represented to her its moral antithesis: lazy, pompous, interested only in themselves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 June 2025
-
At 11:30, as the simultaneously pompous and obsequious gate agent announces the passengers above gold status, the bit, already tilting toward insanity, leaves any attempt to portray a real airport behind and dives fully into Alice in Wonderland–level surrealism.—
John Roy,
Vulture,
8 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vainglorious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vainglorious. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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