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
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 The conceit was literal: actors playing the two thinkers—Confucius dressed in a tan robe and Karl Marx in a black suit and a leonine white wig—met at the Yuelu Academy, a thousand-year-old school renowned for its role in developing Confucian philosophy. Rana Mitter, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 But the conceit is that Shellville is a high school populated entirely by sheep. Ryan Craig, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 But, for hundreds of years, the felony-murder doctrine has muddled this conceit. Sarah Stillman, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023 And one of the central things to the conceit of the novel is that some days are more eventful than others. Samantha Highfill, EW.com, 8 Feb. 2024 Sisterhood’s odd story conceit, which comes from Ann Brashares’ 2001 novel of the same name, provides a solid framework for the characters’ bonding and passing milestones on their way to womanhood. Brett Weiss, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Jan. 2024 As is to be expected with such a conceit, not everyone will embrace the absurdity of what tries to be a Steinbeckian tale of blundering sasquatches grappling with death and the human destruction of their habitat. Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 20 Jan. 2024 That is, more or less, the conceit of Las Palmas, which Ardon’s parents, Connie Ardon and Alfonso Cruz, opened at 825 Minnesota Ave. David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 19 Jan. 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 19 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

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