1
a
: favorable opinion
especially
: excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue
… the landlord's conceit of his own superior knowledge … —
Adam Smith
Adam Smith
b(1)
: a result of mental activity : thought
(2)
: individual opinion
2
a
: a fanciful idea
b
: an elaborate or strained metaphor
The poem abounds in metaphysical conceits.
c
: use or presence of such conceits in poetry
d
: an organizing theme or concept
… found his conceit for the film early …—Peter Wilkinson
Peter Wilkinson… the historian's conceit that the past is forever prologue …—Leon V. Sigal
Leon V. Sigal3
: a fancy item or trifle
Conceits were fancy desserts, made either of sugar … or pastry.—Francie Owen
Francie Owen
conceited; conceiting; conceits
1
chiefly dialectal
: imagine
2
dialectal British
: to take a fancy to
3
obsolete
: conceive, understand
Examples of conceit in a Sentence
Noun
His conceit has earned him many enemies.
the conceit that the crowd at the outdoor rock concert was a vast sea of people waving to the beat of the music
Verb
after a huge meal like that, I cannot conceit eating another thing for the rest of the day
Recent Examples on the Web
Richard Meyer, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
The first season of Severance walked the line between science-fiction thriller and Office Space-like satire, using a clever conceit (characters can’t remember what happens at work while at home, and vice versa) to open up new storytelling possibilities.
—Ars Technica, 31 Jan. 2025
Such slipperiness is a universal theme in the natural sciences: definitions are a human conceit, not a natural occurrence.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2025
This is the basic conceit for a sketch featuring Rachel Dratch, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and host Christopher Walken, who once again proves why his voice is one of the most iconic in the history of showbiz.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conceit
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Noun
The photograph of a marble sculpture displayed on a marble wall at the Nationalgalerie was more than a clever conceit.
—Richard Meyer, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2025
The first season of Severance walked the line between science-fiction thriller and Office Space-like satire, using a clever conceit (characters can’t remember what happens at work while at home, and vice versa) to open up new storytelling possibilities.
—Ars Technica, 31 Jan. 2025
Such slipperiness is a universal theme in the natural sciences: definitions are a human conceit, not a natural occurrence.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Jan. 2025
This is the basic conceit for a sketch featuring Rachel Dratch, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and host Christopher Walken, who once again proves why his voice is one of the most iconic in the history of showbiz.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conceit
Cite this Entry
“Conceit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conceit. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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