conceit.

1. An exaggerated belief in your own importance, ability, or attractiveness.

2. An elaborate or imaginative comparison or idea used to shape a literary work.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• insufferable conceit
• personal conceit

On the page

His conceit made every correction sound to him like an insult.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Usually uncountable for self-regard; literary device singular conceit, plural conceits. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.