1
as in metaphor
an elaborate or fanciful way of expressing something
the conceit that the crowd at the outdoor rock concert was a vast sea of people waving to the beat of the music
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2
as in illusion
a conception or image created by the imagination and having no objective reality
his dream of swimming in the Olympics is nothing more than a conceit
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in vanity
an often unjustified feeling of being pleased with oneself or with one's situation or achievements
even though her novels are enormously popular, the writer is more prone to humility than to conceit
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to imagine
to form a mental picture of
after a huge meal like that, I cannot conceit eating another thing for the rest of the day
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of conceit
Armond White, National Review, 21 May 2025
Technology advances at an exponential rate (Jia’s conceit with the cameras is strengthened by his focus on the couple’s evolving relationships to cell phones and robotics), and the film’s characters age in turn.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 May 2025
Far from an abstract or futuristic conceit, predictive policing is a reality.
—Maria Lungu, The Conversation, 6 May 2025
Much of the dialogue has an expository flatness, which only heightens the grim comedy of the whole conceit; Cronenberg’s cool, latex-sheathed touch keeps brushing up against your funny bone.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conceit
Noun
But that stumble constitutes Hwang’s only confrontation with the hypocrisy that ruins Yellow Face and its inherent PBS conceit.
—Armond White, National Review, 21 May 2025
Technology advances at an exponential rate (Jia’s conceit with the cameras is strengthened by his focus on the couple’s evolving relationships to cell phones and robotics), and the film’s characters age in turn.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 May 2025
Far from an abstract or futuristic conceit, predictive policing is a reality.
—Maria Lungu, The Conversation, 6 May 2025
Much of the dialogue has an expository flatness, which only heightens the grim comedy of the whole conceit; Cronenberg’s cool, latex-sheathed touch keeps brushing up against your funny bone.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conceit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conceit
Noun
-
To extend the metaphor, love might not save the house but needs saving from it, to be kept alive in new forms of shelter before the rebuild.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 June 2025
-
Today, technical debt has become a popular metaphor for communicating the long-term implications of architectural decisions.—
Shilpa Shastri,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Noun
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The entire space was stunned by the illusion of water gushing and animals moving toward the audience.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
EW.com,
28 May 2025
-
Donald Trump started selling the illusion of exclusivity half a century ago.—
Ian Crouch,
New Yorker,
27 May 2025
Noun
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Fueled by new data and shifting cultural values, injectables are being redefined—not as vanity, but as a personalized pathway to confidence, wellness, and long-term care.—
Corein Carter,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
-
In a hot pink colorway, the clutch will become your vanity’s newest conversation piece.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
22 May 2025
Verb
-
Finally, imagine tucking your anxiety into a cozy box and carrying it gently in a small bag slung over your shoulder, wrote Beck.—
Ashton Jackson,
CNBC,
30 May 2025
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Olivia Jan, who worked on the Grassland Opera fragrance imagined the scent of the herbaceous orbexilum stipulatum flower.—
Nicole Mowbray,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Set to John Kander and Fred Ebb's award-winning score, the trailer offers a glimpse at the film’s blend of gritty realism and old-Hollywood fantasy.—
Dave Quinn,
People.com,
5 June 2025
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Her big-screen debut came in 1985 in Ridley Scott's Legend, a fantasy film that also starred Tom Cruise and Tim Curry.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
4 June 2025
Noun
-
Just observationally, there seemed to be a very high crossover between those of you with the inflated ego to list 16 teams and those of you who thought Dallas was going to lose to Colorado.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
-
The result is an entirely incoherent crime thriller that features gangsters prattling on about the self and the ego and the soul and then occasionally wandering into an entirely different scene where other gangsters are prattling on about the same thing.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
27 May 2025
Verb
-
But the Panthers are bullish on his abilities and envision him thriving as a favorite target for Young for years to come.—
Joseph Person,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
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The climbable statue, which won’t actually be climbable until later this summer, was envisioned by Denargo’s landscape architect Sasaki, in collaboration with developers Golub & Co. and FORMATIV.—
Jessica Alvarado Gamez,
Denver Post,
31 May 2025
Noun
-
Ending this season with the Europa League Trophy was a dream come true.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
-
In 1963, Johnson moved from Elizabeth, N.J. to bustling 42nd Street to follow her dreams of being a Broadway star and to learn more about New York City’s gay community.—
Tourmaline,
Time,
2 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Conceit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conceit. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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