conceit

Everyday

1. Thinking far too well of yourself; being too proud of how clever, good-looking or important you are. tree →
2. (in poetry, formal) a clever, surprising comparison or idea. tree →

In the lessons

Used in stories and character studies to describe a vain, boastful person. It is the noun for «conceited». In The Wind in the Willows Toad is full of conceit: he boasts and sings songs about how wonderful he is. In lessons about values, conceit is the opposite of humility (being humble).

Examples

• Toad's conceit grew with every song he sang about himself. tree →
• Her conceit made her hard to like. tree →
• He was clever, but without any conceit. tree →
• The hare's conceit made him lose the race. tree →
• «I'm the best,» he said, full of conceit. tree →
• The story warns against pride and conceit. tree →
• The poet used a clever conceit, comparing love to a compass. tree →
• The smaller the mind the greater the conceit. tree →

Note

Uncountable when it means pride: no «a» and no plural. Adjective: conceited (a conceited boy). Different from «concept» (an idea) and «deceit» (lying). Spelling rule: i before e except after c — conceit.

In Jewish tradition

Here it means imagination or opinion, what a person only imagines in his own mind.

Interpretation. The tradition reads Proverbs as warning that wealth is a false security, only a wall in the owner's imagination, while real protection is God's name.

Examples

• The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit. (Writings PRO.18.11, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Uncountable when it means pride: no «a» and no plural. Adjective: conceited (a conceited boy). Different from «concept» (an idea) and «deceit» (lying). Spelling rule: i before e except after c — conceit.