vanity
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (4)vanities
- feelings of excessive prideSynonyms: amour propreconceitself-loveType of pride, pridefulness
- the quality of being valueless or futile“he rejected the vanities of the world”Synonyms: emptinessType of worthlessness, ineptitude
- the trait of being unduly vain and conceited; false prideSynonyms: conceitconceitednessType of traitKinds egotism, self-love, boastfulness, posturing
- low table with mirror or mirrors where one sits while dressing or applying makeupSynonyms: dressing tabledressertoilet tableType of table
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. vanite, F. vanité, L. vanitas, fr. vanus empty, vain. See Vain.
1. The quality or state of being vain; want of substance to satisfy desire; emptiness; unsubstantialness; unrealness; falsity.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.— Eccl. i. 2.
Here I may well show the vanity of that which is reported in the story of Walsingham.— Sir John Davies
2. An inflation of mind upon slight grounds; empty pride inspired by an overweening conceit of one's personal attainments or decorations; an excessive desire for notice or approval; pride; ostentation; conceit.
The exquisitely sensitive vanity of Garrick was galled.— Thomas Babington Macaulay
3. That which is vain; anything empty, visionary, unreal, or unsubstantial; fruitless desire or effort; trifling labor productive of no good; empty pleasure; vain pursuit; idle show; unsubstantial enjoyment.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher.— Eccl. i. 2.
Vanity possesseth many who are desirous to know the certainty of things to come.— Sir Philip Sidney
[Sin] with vanity had filled the works of men.— John Milton
Think not, when woman's transient breath is fled, That all her vanities at once are dead; Succeeding vanities she still regards.— Alexander Pope
4. One of the established characters in the old moralities and puppet shows. See Morality, noun, 5.
You... take vanity the puppet's part.— William Shakespeare
5. same as dressing table.
6. A cabinet built around a bathroom sink, usually with a countertop and sometimes drawers.
Synonyms: Egotism; pride; emptiness; worthlessness; self-sufficiency. See Egotism, and Pride.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: GCIDE editors
The Devil's Dictionary
They say that hens do cackle loudest when There's nothing vital in the eggs they've laid; And there are hens, professing to have made A study of mankind, who say that men Whose business 'tis to drive the tongue or pen Make the most clamorous fanfaronade O'er their most worthless work; and I'm afraid They're not entirely different from the hen. Lo! the drum-major in his coat of gold, His blazing breeches and high-towering cap -- Imperiously pompous, grandly bold, Grim, resolute, an awe-inspiring chap! Who'd think this gorgeous creature's only virtue Is that in battle he will never hurt you? Hannibal Hunsiker