VAINGLORIOUS Synonyms: 114 Similar and Opposite Words

vainglorious

adjective

ˌvān-ˈglȯr-ē-əs

Definition of vainglorious

as in arrogant

having too high an opinion of oneself a vainglorious woman who always insists on being the center of attention

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of vainglorious Claire’s elective death therefore remains a problematic choice for some viewers, an act of vainglorious selfishness from a woman who was never terribly nice to begin with. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026 Melodramatic and vainglorious, moody and capricious, a fidgety, neurotic hypochondriac, Stalin was a bundle of appalling contradictions. — Literary Hub, 25 Feb. 2026 All but the most vainglorious architects imagine that their buildings will change in some small way after completion. — Anthony Paletta, Curbed, 2 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for vainglorious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for vainglorious

Adjective

Elon Musk — Ike Barinholtz has Musk wandering in from another movie, or dimension, a ramble-y, arrogant but ultimately comically non-threatening figure.

— Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
The loud-mouthed cameos from ex-soccer players Zlatan Ibrahimović and Eric Cantona in Nike’s World Cup hero film Rip the Script were indicative of this, chiming with an older, more arrogant vision of Nike seen in the ’90s and the aughts.

— Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of arrogant

Adjective

Aduba will play Allegra Miller, a proud New Yorker fighting developers to keep her home and change her life forever.

— Isabelle Farina, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Docking the Akira One for the last time, Nathan feels proud that his team kept it together despite being on the edge of collapse literally the entire time.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of proud

Adjective

Here was my chance to get out of London, this counterfeit of death with its everywhere rage and its moribund culture and its smug population and its streets steeped in resentment and the sky pressing down like a chloroform rag.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
Hilton vouches for their integrity, then quickly pivots into an attack on smug Democrats who take voters for granted.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of smug

Adjective

Jeon Do-yeon, who plays the family’s matriarch, is colorfully slinky as a globe-trotting party widow, a vain, compulsively seductive narcissist who macks on her daughters’ men like a Real Housewife given a villain’s edit.

— Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2026
The character is a vain celebrity author known for his theatrics and questionable character.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of vain

Adjective

These species, along with teal and shovelers, often get categorized by self-important duck hunters as scrap ducks or bonus ducks.

— Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 9 Sep. 2026
Public officials attend each year to bear witness and show their respects, not deliver self-important speeches.

— Ken Frydman, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of self-important

Adjective

Meanwhile, Johnson reprises his role as Moana's bantering reluctant partner, the shapeshifting trickster demigod Maui, alongside Jemaine Clement again voicing the conceited giant crustacean Tamatoa.

— Brian Truitt, USA Today, 9 July 2026
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

Definition of conceited

Adjective

Instead, just enjoy the whacking of the pompous, the powerful and parents — that’s what Stone and Parker do.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026
Symptoms include baby fever, exacerbated by the pregnancy announcement of her sister Macy (Zosia Mamet), and an intolerance to her pompous, long-term but non-committal boyfriend Spencer (Finn Wittrock).

— Katie Walsh, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of pompous

Adjective

Through remarkable archival footage and an incredible range of interviews, Monsters of God digs into the egotistical and ruthless mentalities that supported competing criminal empires and the undercover operations that dismantled them.

— Rory Doherty, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Where some may see this behavior as vain or egotistical, others may perceive it as bold, self-assured and passionate.

— Mallorie Sullivan, USA Today, 20 July 2026

Definition of egotistic

Browse Nearby Words

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vainglorious

vaingloriousness

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“Vainglorious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vainglorious. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of vainglorious

adjective

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