Vainglorious
adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Possessing excessive vanity or unwarranted pride.
"And the Apoſtle [Paul] ſeems here moſt peculiarly to have directed this Encomium of the Gospel, as a Defiance to the Philoſophers of his Time, the Fluſtring Vain-glorious Greeks, vvho pretended ſo much to magnify, and even Adore the VViſdom they profeſſed, […]"
- 1 feeling self-importance wordnet
Example
More examples"And the Apoſtle [Paul] ſeems here moſt peculiarly to have directed this Encomium of the Gospel, as a Defiance to the Philoſophers of his Time, the Fluſtring Vain-glorious Greeks, vvho pretended ſo much to magnify, and even Adore the VViſdom they profeſſed, […]"
Etymology
From Middle English veinglorious, from Old French vain glorios, from Latin vānus (“empty”) + glōriōsus.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.