VANITY


Meaning of VANITY in English

— vanitied , adj.

/van"i tee/ , n. , pl. vanities , adj.

n.

1. excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit: Failure to be elected was a great blow to his vanity.

2. an instance or display of this quality or feeling.

3. something about which one is vain.

4. lack of real value; hollowness; worthlessness: the vanity of a selfish life.

5. something worthless, trivial, or pointless.

6. See vanity case .

7. See dressing table .

8. a wide, counterlike shelf containing a wash basin, as in the bathroom of a hotel or residence, often equipped with shelves, drawers, etc., underneath.

9. a cabinet built below or around a bathroom sink, primarily to hide exposed pipes.

10. compact 1 (def. 13).

adj.

11. produced as a showcase for one's own talents, esp. as a writer, actor, singer, or composer: a vanity production.

12. of, pertaining to, or issued by a vanity press: a spate of vanity books.

[ 1200-50; ME vanite vanitas, equiv. to van- (see VAIN) + -itas- -ITY ]

Syn. 1. egotism, complacency, vainglory, ostentation. See pride. 4. emptiness, sham, unreality, folly, triviality, futility.

Ant. 1. humility.

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .