conceit

1 of 2

noun

con·​ceit kən-ˈsēt How to pronounce conceit (audio)
1
a
: favorable opinion
especially : excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue
… the landlord's conceit of his own superior knowledge … Adam Smith
b(1)
: a result of mental activity : thought
(2)
: individual opinion
2
a
: a fanciful idea
b
: an elaborate or strained metaphor
The poem abounds in metaphysical conceits.
c
: use or presence of such conceits in poetry
d
: an organizing theme or concept
… found his conceit for the film early …Peter Wilkinson
… the historian's conceit that the past is forever prologue …Leon V. Sigal
3
: a fancy item or trifle
Conceits were fancy desserts, made either of sugar … or pastry.Francie Owen

conceit

2 of 2

verb

conceited; conceiting; conceits

transitive verb

1
chiefly dialectal : imagine
2
dialectal British : to take a fancy to
3
obsolete : conceive, understand

Examples of conceit in a Sentence

Noun His conceit has earned him many enemies. the conceit that the crowd at the outdoor rock concert was a vast sea of people waving to the beat of the music Verb after a huge meal like that, I cannot conceit eating another thing for the rest of the day
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
To Gromyko, such conceit must have seemed breathtaking. Benn Steil, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2024 So what might seem like improvements or expansions — elaborate group choreography, imaginative conceits — risk straying from the emotional core that makes flamenco flamenco. Brian Seibert, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Johnson’s legal conceit allowed Republicans to side with Trump without embracing his frivolous claims. David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2024 Thus, its central conceit — Bobby, a commitment-phobe bachelor on the verge of his 35th birthday, is now Bobbie, a commitment-phobe bachelorette — has had time to settle in, shed the baggage of comparisons to the past and take flight with a rich reputation all its own. Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 Despite seeking to flesh out the story with detours into the actions of peripheral players – a conceit that tends to work better in literary form – the structure undercuts the dramatic tension. Brian Lowry, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 But some of the conceits behind that were very interesting, like the British aristocracy being criminal in the essence of controlling land and being able to pass that down for generations. Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 After Dick’s Picks concluded in 2005, a new flagship archival series, Road Trips, emerged in 2007, with a different conceit: eschewing full shows in favor of compilations from multi-show runs and even entire tours. Eric Renner Brown, Billboard, 8 Feb. 2024 The conceit is familiar: A handful of recent films (and TV shows) have given audiences royal women eagerly subverting the tropes of medieval romances. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'conceit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from conceivre — see conceive

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b(1)

Verb

1557, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of conceit was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near conceit

Cite this Entry

“Conceit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conceit. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

conceit

noun
con·​ceit
kən-ˈsēt
1
: too much pride in one's own worth or virtue
2
a
: an idea showing imagination
b
: a complicated way of expressing something

More from Merriam-Webster on conceit

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!