vanity


Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

van·i·ty

 (văn′ĭ-tē)
n. pl. van·i·ties
1.
a. Excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; conceit. See Synonyms at conceit.
b. Something about which one is vain or conceited: "One thing ... rather quenched her vanities: she had to wear her cousin's clothes" (Louisa May Alcott).
2.
a. Worthlessness, pointlessness, or futility: the vanity of regretting missed opportunities.
b. Something that is vain, futile, or worthless.
3.
c. A bathroom cabinet that encloses a basin and its water lines and drain, usually furnished with shelves and drawers underneath for storage of toiletries.

[Middle English vanite, from Old French, from Latin vānitās, from vānus, empty; see euə- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vanity

(ˈvænɪtɪ)
n, pl -ties
1. the state or quality of being vain; excessive pride or conceit
2. ostentation occasioned by ambition or pride
3. an instance of being vain or something about which one is vain
4. the state or quality of being valueless, futile, or unreal
5. something that is worthless or useless
6. (Furniture) NZ short for vanity unit
[C13: from Old French vanité, from Latin vānitās emptiness, from vānus empty]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

van•i•ty

(ˈvæn ɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties,
adj. n.
1. excessive pride in oneself or one's appearance; character or quality of being vain.
2. an instance of this quality or feeling.
3. something about which one is vain.
4. lack of real value; worthlessness.
5. something worthless, trivial, or pointless.
8. a cabinet built around or below a bathroom sink.
adj.
10. produced as a showcase for one's own performing talents.
11. of, pertaining to, or issued by a vanity press: vanity books.
[1200–50; < Old French < Latin vānitās=vān(us) (see vain) + -itās -ity]
syn: See pride.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Vanity

 

See Also: PRIDE

  1. An aura of self-love clung to him like a cloak —Robert Traver
  2. Arrogance … was escaping from him like steam —Cornell Woolrich
  3. Arrogant as a hummingbird with a full feeder —A. E. Maxwell
  4. As careful about his looks as a young girl getting ready for her first dance —Carlos Fuentes
  5. Conceit grows as natural as hair on one’s head; but it is longer in coming out —Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms
  6. Conceit like a high gloss varnish smeared over him —Rosa Guy
  7. Conceit that plays itself in an elevated nose … that is only playing at being conceited; like children play at being kings and queens and go strutting around with feathers and trains —Jerome K. Jerome
  8. The ego blows up like a big balloon —Delmore Schwartz
  9. Flaunt my knowledges, like a woman will flaunt her pretty body —Borden Deal
  10. He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow —George Eliot
  11. He [a man without vanity] would be a very admirable man, a man to be put under a glass case, and shown round as a specimen, a man to be stuck upon a pedestal, and copied like a school exercise —Jerome K. Jerome

    Jerome concluded his comparison as follows: “A man to be reverenced, but not a man to be loved, not a human brother whose hand we should care to grip.”

  12. (Ed Koch) is like the rooster who takes credit for the sunrise —Jack Newfield, Village Voice, October 7, 1986
  13. Looks at herself in the mirror like she was the first woman in the world —George Garrett
  14. A man is inseparable from his congenital vanities and stupidities, as a dog is inseparable from its fleas —H. L. Mencken
  15. A man who shows me his wealth is like the beggar who shows me his poverty; they are both looking for alms … the rich for the alms of envy, the poor man for the alms of my pity —Ben Hecht
  16. My vanity [after hurtful remark] like a newly-felled tree, lies prone and bleeding —Carolyn Kizer
  17. Preening himself like a courting rooster —Robert Traver
  18. Preening like a politician after a landslide victory —Elyse Sommer
  19. Puffed himself up like a ship in full sail —Hans Christian Andersen
  20. Self-love is a cup without any bottom; you might pour all the great lakes into it, and never fill it up —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
  21. Sleek and smug as a full-bellied shark —T. Coraghessan Boyle
  22. Strutting … like a pouter pigeon —Jerome K. Jerome

    The pigeon named for its propensity for puffing out its distensible crops provides a novel alternative of the more commonly used “Strutting like a peacock.”

  23. Vanity is as ill at ease under indifference as tenderness is under a love which it cannot return —George Eliot
  24. Vanity, like murder, will out —Hannah Parkhouse Cowley
  25. Vanity, like sexual impulse, gives rise to needless self-reproach —Charles Horton Cooley

    Cooley followed up on his simile with “Why be ashamed of anything so human? What, indeed should we be without it.”

  26. Vanity may be likened to the smooth-skinned and velvet-footed mouse, nibbling about forever in expectation of a crumb —William Gilmore Simms
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.vanity - feelings of excessive pridevanity - feelings of excessive pride    
pride, pridefulness - a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
2.vanity - the quality of being valueless or futilevanity - the quality of being valueless or futile; "he rejected the vanities of the world"
worthlessness, ineptitude - having no qualities that would render it valuable or useful; "the drill sergeant's intent was to convince all the recruits of their worthlessness"
3.vanity - the trait of being unduly vain and conceitedvanity - the trait of being unduly vain and conceited; false pride
trait - a distinguishing feature of your personal nature
narcism, narcissism, self-love - an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself; "self-love that shut out everyone else"
boastfulness, vainglory - outspoken conceit
egotism, swelled head, self-importance - an exaggerated opinion of your own importance
posturing - adopting a vain conceited posture
4.vanity - low table with mirror or mirrors where one sits while dressing or applying makeupvanity - low table with mirror or mirrors where one sits while dressing or applying makeup
table - a piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs; "it was a sturdy table"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

vanity

noun
1. pride, arrogance, conceit, airs, showing off (informal), pretension, narcissism, egotism, self-love, ostentation, vainglory, self-admiration, affected ways, bigheadedness (informal), conceitedness, swollen-headedness (informal) Men who use steroids are motivated by sheer vanity.
pride modesty, humility, self-deprecation, meekness, self-abasement
2. futility, uselessness, worthlessness, emptiness, frivolity, unreality, triviality, hollowness, pointlessness, inanity, unproductiveness, fruitlessness, unsubstantiality, profitlessness the futility of human existence and the vanity of wealth
futility value, worth, importance
Quotations
"I've only been in love with a beer bottle and a mirror" [Sid Vicious]
"Vanity is a vital aid to nature: completely and absolutely necessary to life. It is one of nature's ways to bind you to the earth" [Elizabeth Smart Necessary Secrets]
"Vanity, like murder, will out" [Hannah Cowley The Belle's Stratagem]
"Possibly, more people kill themselves and others out of hurt vanity than out of envy, jealousy, malice or desire for revenge" [Iris Murdoch The Philosopher's Pupil]
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" Bible: Ecclesiastes
"We are so vain that we even care for the opinion of those we don't care for" [Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

vanity

noun
1. A regarding of oneself with undue favor:
Slang: ego trip.
2. The condition or quality of being useless or ineffective:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
بُطْلان، عُقْمزَهْو، غُرور
marnostmarnivost
meningsløshedselvoptagethed
hiúság
fánÿti, hégómihégómagirnd
márnivosťmárnosť
nečimrnost
hiçlikkendini beğenmişlikkibirnafileleik

vanity

[ˈvænɪtɪ]
A. N
1. (= conceit) → vanidad f
to do sth out of vanityhacer algo por vanidad
2. (= pride) → orgullo m
3. (= emptiness) → vanidad f
all is vanitytodo es vanidad
B. CPD vanity case Nneceser m
vanity (license) plate N (esp US) (Aut) → matrícula f personalizada
vanity unit Nlavabo m empotrado
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

vanity

[ˈvænəti] n
(= conceitedness) → vanité f
(= concern with one's appearance) → coquetterie f
He refused to wear glasses. It was sheer vanity → Il refusait de porter des lunettes. C'était par pure coquetterie.
to do sth out of vanity → faire qch par coquetterie
(= futility) → futilité fvanity box nvanity-case mvanity case nvanity-case mvanity plate nplaque f d'immatriculation personnalisée
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

vanity

n
(concerning looks) → Eitelkeit f; (concerning own value) → Einbildung f, → Eingebildetheit f; vanity made him think he was bound to succeeder war so eingebildet or so von sich eingenommen, dass er einen Misserfolg für ausgeschlossen hielt
(= worthlessness, of life, pleasures) → Nichtigkeit f, → Hohlheit f; (of words)Hohlheit f; (of efforts)Vergeblichkeit f; all is vanityalles ist vergebens
(US: = dressing table) → Frisiertisch m

vanity

:
vanity case
Vanity Fair
nJahrmarkt mder Eitelkeiten
vanity plates
pl (US Aut) Nummernschild mit persönlicher Note
vanity press
n (esp US) → Selbstkostenverlag m
vanity publishing
n Veröffentlichung, für die ein Autor selbst bezahlt, da es sonst nicht zur Veröffentlichung kommen würde
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

vanity

[ˈvænɪtɪ] nvanità f inv
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

vain

(vein) adjective
1. having too much pride in one's appearance, achievements etc; conceited. She's very vain about her good looks.
2. unsuccessful. He made a vain attempt to reach the drowning woman.
3. empty; meaningless. vain threats; vain promises.
ˈvainly adverb
unsuccessfully. He searched vainly for the treasure.
vanity (ˈvӕnəti) noun
1. excessive admiration of oneself; conceit. Vanity is her chief fault.
2. worthlessness or pointlessness. the vanity of human ambition.
in vain
with no success. He tried in vain to open the locked door.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
There she goes, now, gazing rapturously at her own toes and murmuring "pittie"--two-foot-ten of conceit and vanity, to say nothing of other wickednesses.
It was late in the day when the train thundered into the ancient city of Vanity, where Vanity Fair is still at the height of prosperity, and exhibits an epitome of whatever is brilliant, gay, and fascinating beneath the sun.
You may have sincerity, but you have no modesty; out of the pettiest vanity you expose your sincerity to publicity and ignominy.
"My vanity may have grievously misled me, but I confess I expected a very different result.
A soldierly compound of vanity, duty and the gambler's hope.
Neither had the fame of Cicero, Seneca, Plinius Secundus, borne her age so well, if it had not been joined with some vanity in themselves; like unto varnish, that makes ceilings not only shine but last.
Yes, this is VANITY FAIR; not a moral place certainly; nor a merry one, though very noisy.
"Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought and on the labour that I had laboured to do; and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
They have learned from the sea also its vanity: is not the sea the peacock of peacocks?
It is so pleasing to one's 'vanity, and so safe, to be of the master's side when he assails those vices and foibles which are inherent in the system of things, and which one can contemn with vast applause so long as one does not attempt to undo the conditions they spring from.
And could I look upon her without compassion, seeing her punishment in the ruin she was, in her profound unfitness for this earth on which she was placed, in the vanity of sorrow which had become a master mania, like the vanity of penitence, the vanity of remorse, the vanity of unworthiness, and other monstrous vanities that have been curses in this world?
The appearance of his masterpiece, 'Vanity Fair' (the allegorical title taken from a famous incident in 'Pilgrim's Progress'), in 'Fraser's Magazine' in