amour propre

noun

amour pro·​pre ˌa-ˌmu̇r-ˈprōprᵊ How to pronounce amour propre (audio)
ˌä-,
-ˈprȯprᵊ

Examples of amour propre in a Sentence

if amour propre is a virtue, then this actress's memoirs are among the greatest declarations of love ever written
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But Edna soon became a case study in exorbitant amour propre, lampooning suburban pretensions, political correctness and the cult of celebrity, and acquiring a damehood along the way. Margalit Fox, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2023 White is Smart Lite without the emotional volatility and ever-present amour propre. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 21 June 2022 But Britain, its amour propre stung at losing such a treasure, halted its export and raised money to keep it in the country. Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2022 As Joe Biden has frankly noted, Mrs. Biden sought the Dr. honorific to rebuild her amour propre. Kyle Smith, National Review, 16 Dec. 2020 Underneath its gleaming promise of public scholarship, Wikipedia is a community that teems with its own authorities and cognoscenti, with all the high-handedness, Byzantine bylaws, and amour propre of any cultural institution on 5th Avenue. Benjamin Wofford, Wired, 2 Nov. 2020 Fundamental to Chinese amour propre is the belief that the language is too difficult for foreigners, who will never master its complete set of characters. Peter Neville-Hadley, WSJ, 1 Sep. 2017 There is no such thing as private satisfaction of amour propre. David Lay Williams, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2017 Concessions at this stage would damage national amour propre to an unacceptable degree. Patrick N. Theros, Time, 26 July 2017

Word History

Etymology

French amour-propre, literally, love of oneself

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of amour propre was in 1775

Dictionary Entries Near amour propre

Cite this Entry

“Amour propre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amour%20propre. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!