I. kənˈsēt, usually -ēd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English conceite, from conceiven to conceive, after such pairs as Middle English deceiven to deceive: deceite deceit
1.
a.
(1) : something that results from mental activity : thought , concept , conception , idea
(2) obsolete : mental activity : thinking or the capacity to think
(3) : individual or personal opinion : judgment , view
b. : high estimation : favorable opinion : esteem , admiration ; especially : excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue
2.
[translation of Italian concetto — more at concetto ]
a. : a whimsical or fancifully ingenious idea
b. : an elaborate, startling, extravagant, or strained metaphor
c. : the use or the presence of such conceits as an element of poetry
3. : a fancy article : attractive trifle ; especially : an ingenious decorative item
with new techniques of designing artificial flowers … some of the resulting conceits are quite fetching — New Yorker
4. archaic : capacity of imagination or fancifulness : active fancy
5. obsolete : a seizure of physical or mental illness
Synonyms:
self-love , egotism , egoism , self-esteem , amour propre : conceit indicates a conviction or assumption of one's own superiority in one or more lines of achievement or a general overall highly favorable notion of oneself usually accompanied by lack of evaluation and irritating offensiveness
conceit, being a false estimate of one's abilities or an overestimate of those that are least important, is both a moral and an intellectual failing — C.W.H.Johnson
Aristotle's “Poetics” was so hard that nobody could understand it and therefore he was fearful lest he should be thought guilty of presumption and conceit in trying to explain it at all — Irving Babbitt
self-love in nonphilosophic usages may suggest abnormal concentration on one's own wishes and considerations to the exclusion of others
when I am led by self-love to keep my seat whilst ladies stand — James Ford
but the proper meaning of self-love is regard to self in distinction from others or regard to some private interest — G.P.Fisher
egotism may indicate a tendency to attract attention to and center interest on oneself and one's achievements
she had the simplest egotism, the most open desire to be thought first always — Virginia Woolf
egotism resides more in a kind of proud isolation, in a species of contempt for the opinions and aims of others — A.C.Benson
egoism implies a self-centered concentration on one's own desires and aspirations to the exclusion of interest in others
it's not so much selfishness as a sort of — is egoism the word? When she wants to do a thing, she doesn't take into account the wants of others at all — B.A.Williams
the essence of a self-reliant and autonomous culture is an unshakable egoism. It must not only regard itself as the peer of any other culture; it must regard itself as the superior of any other — H.L.Mencken
self-esteem may indicate either natural well-based commendable pride in self or more shaky and somewhat vain attempts at self-pride and self-adjustment
I do some things very well; but my self-esteem is crushed by the multitude of things at which I am a hopeless duffer — G.B.Shaw
Hollywood propping up the self-esteem of celluloid royalty — Gladys B. Stern
amour propre indicates a pride in oneself, often commendable or pardonable but often delicate and susceptible to being wounded
I should doubt the judgment of anyone who told me that the people of Egypt have no amour propre or that there does not exist in Egypt today a legitimate feeling of pride for the nation — Manchester Guardian Weekly
our amour propre is concerned in believing the war in which we fought a righteous one and the victory in which we participated an unsullied one — New Republic
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to form a conception of : apprehend , understand
our great need of him you have right well conceited — Shakespeare
2. now dialect : imagine , suppose , think
I did conceit a most delicious feast — George Herbert
3. : to fill with fancies
4. now dialect Britain : to take a fancy to : like
5. : to hold a favorable opinion of (oneself) : esteem
began to conceit himself already a poet — Robert Southey
intransitive verb
now dialect : to form an idea : think
III. noun
: an organizing theme or concept
found his conceit for the film early — Peter Wilkinson