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Conceit
Definitions
- 1 Something conceived in the mind; an idea, a thought. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"In laughing, there ever procedeth a conceit of somewhat ridiculous."
- 2 the trait of being unduly vain and conceited; false pride wordnet
- 3 The faculty of conceiving ideas; mental faculty; apprehension. countable, uncountable
"a man of quick conceit"
- 4 an artistic device or effect wordnet
- 5 Quickness of apprehension; active imagination; lively fancy. countable, uncountable
"His wit's as thick as Tewksbury mustard; there is no more conceit in him than is in a mallet."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a witty or ingenious turn of phrase wordnet
- 7 Opinion, (neutral) judgment. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 8 an elaborate poetic image or a far-fetched comparison of very dissimilar things wordnet
- 9 Esteem, favourable opinion. archaic, countable, dialectal, uncountable
"By him that me boughte, than quod Dysdayne, / I wonder sore he is in suche cenceyte."
- 10 feelings of excessive pride wordnet
- 11 A novel or fanciful idea; a whim. countable
"On his way to the gibbet, a freak took him in the head to go off with a conceit."
- 12 An ingenious expression or metaphorical idea, especially in extended form or used as a literary or rhetorical device. countable, rhetoric
"The “cyberspace” conceit allows him to dramatize computer hacking in nontechnical language, although I wonder how much his somewhat florid descriptions of the “bodiless exultation of cyberspace” will mean to readers who have not experienced the illusion of power that punching the keyboard of even a dinky little word-processor can give."
- 13 Overly high self-esteem; vain pride; hubris. uncountable
"Plum'd with conceit he calls aloud."
- 14 Design; pattern. countable, uncountable
"And yet I know not how conceit may rob the treasury of life when life itself yields to the theft;"
- 1 To form an idea; to think. obsolete
"Those whose […] vulgar apprehensions conceit but low of matrimonial purposes."
- 2 To conceive. obsolete, transitive
"[T]his Medicine he conceits worse than the Disesase."
Etymology
From Middle English conceyte, formed from conceyven by analogy with pairs such as (Modern English) deceive~deceit, receive~receipt etc. Doublet of concept and concetto. Akin to Portuguese conceito.
From Middle English conceyte, formed from conceyven by analogy with pairs such as (Modern English) deceive~deceit, receive~receipt etc. Doublet of concept and concetto. Akin to Portuguese conceito.
See also for "conceit"
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