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
Synonyms
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
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
There’s a conceit in that film that Cuba Gooding Jr. is a star football player.
—Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 20 Nov. 2024
The series is still going strong thanks to numerous sequels and a spinoff, wading into such over-the-top territory that the initial street racing conceit is now little more than window dressing.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 20 Nov. 2024
Heck, there's even a whiteboard that names them all in the clever thriller, which starts with teens venturing to a cabin in the woods before revealing a whole other conceit underneath, metaphorically and literally.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for conceit 
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Noun
For this installment, the conceit was Fleming performing a Stomp-esque show using Taylor Tomlinson’s jokes as the rhythmic element.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024
There’s a conceit in that film that Cuba Gooding Jr. is a star football player.
—Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 20 Nov. 2024
The series is still going strong thanks to numerous sequels and a spinoff, wading into such over-the-top territory that the initial street racing conceit is now little more than window dressing.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 20 Nov. 2024
Heck, there's even a whiteboard that names them all in the clever thriller, which starts with teens venturing to a cabin in the woods before revealing a whole other conceit underneath, metaphorically and literally.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for conceit
Dictionary Entries Near conceit
Cite this Entry
“Conceit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conceit. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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