as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
a vainglorious woman who always insists on being the center of attention
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Recent Examples of vainglorious
The real real thing tended to be rather different: clumsy, ad hoc, vainglorious—and secret.
—
Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Here, too, in the Airfix models and the vainglorious LP collection is the solitary self-curation of the only child—the kid who can’t dash from his bedroom to a sibling’s, model or record in hand.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
Donald Trump’s vainglorious birthday parade masquerading as a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army may get drenched in a rainy DC this Flag Day, but the financial sun is shining a bit brighter for some suffering Hollywood vendors.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 June 2025
Not to the founders — three vainglorious men who had been born with the world in their hands and their futures glittering like gold coins waiting to be spent — but to the people of Hartford.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for vainglorious
Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Here, too, in the Airfix models and the vainglorious LP collection is the solitary self-curation of the only child—the kid who can’t dash from his bedroom to a sibling’s, model or record in hand.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
Donald Trump’s vainglorious birthday parade masquerading as a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army may get drenched in a rainy DC this Flag Day, but the financial sun is shining a bit brighter for some suffering Hollywood vendors.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 June 2025
Not to the founders — three vainglorious men who had been born with the world in their hands and their futures glittering like gold coins waiting to be spent — but to the people of Hartford.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for vainglorious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vainglorious
Adjective
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Bateman’s Clark is comfortably semi-famous, semi-smug and also, maybe, a decent guy.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
24 Mar. 2026
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Over Your Dead Body is not for the faint of heart, but give or take a rape threat that crosses the line into smug sadism without quite seeming to realize it, the violence lands as more comically cartoonish than horrific.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The rabbi is ornery, arrogant, sometimes cruel.—
Daniel Felsenthal,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
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Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.—
David Brooks,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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One of his proudest accomplishments was creating the FWISD Scholar Athlete Award program.—
Kamal Morgan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Mar. 2026
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On the question of T-pop’s rising global profile, Satur is proud but measured.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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This was in vain, as after falling on a safety squeeze, Miner hit a line drive down the left line to add an insurance run and go up 4-1.—
Tony Gleason,
Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
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Baritone Aleksey Bogdanov is a scene-stealing delight as the vain bullfighter Escamillo.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Only this time the interns are boring Gen Z stereotypes (obsessed with TikTok, too sensitive, too emotional, too self-important).—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
25 Feb. 2026
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This isn’t just one self-important critic’s opinion — Berry herself has talked about it.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Avoid Burying Praise in Negatives To avoid making children too conceited, parents might bury praise in the midst of negatives.—
Wayne Parker,
Parents,
8 Mar. 2026
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The Pitt definitely feels like the type of workplace where conceited doctors-in-training are pretty much guaranteed to quickly get knocked down a peg.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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And the less said of the poorly mixed, pompous Machina, the better.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
3 Mar. 2026
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The pompous clergyman enters the life of the Bennet family, his distant cousins, with the assumption that, given his respectable position and benefactor, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, one of those daughters would be happy to marry him.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vainglorious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vainglorious. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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