VANITY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does vanity mean? 

• VANITY (noun)
  The noun VANITY has 4 senses:

1. feelings of excessive pride

2. the quality of being valueless or futile

3. the trait of being unduly vain and conceited; false pride

4. low table with mirror or mirrors where one sits while dressing or applying makeup

  Familiarity information: VANITY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VANITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feelings of excessive pride

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

amour propre; conceit; self-love; vanity

Hypernyms ("vanity" is a kind of...):

pride; pridefulness (a feeling of self-respect and personal worth)

Derivation:

vain (characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The quality of being valueless or futile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

emptiness; vanity

Context example:

he rejected the vanities of the world

Hypernyms ("vanity" is a kind of...):

ineptitude; worthlessness (having no qualities that would render it valuable or useful)

Derivation:

vain (characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The trait of being unduly vain and conceited; false pride

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

conceit; conceitedness; vanity

Hypernyms ("vanity" is a kind of...):

trait (a distinguishing feature of your personal nature)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "vanity"):

narcism; narcissism; self-love (an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself)

boastfulness; vainglory (outspoken conceit)

egotism; self-importance; swelled head (an exaggerated opinion of your own importance)

posturing (adopting a vain conceited posture)

Derivation:

vain (characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Low table with mirror or mirrors where one sits while dressing or applying makeup

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

dresser; dressing table; toilet table; vanity

Hypernyms ("vanity" is a kind of...):

table (a piece of furniture having a smooth flat top that is usually supported by one or more vertical legs)

 Context examples 

Considering how very handsome she is, she appears to be little occupied with it; her vanity lies another way.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

But vanity, not love, has been my folly.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

But at first I must confess, my vanity only was elevated by it.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

But it was not vanity; it was only harmless delight in my admiration.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot's character; vanity of person and of situation.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Tell me all about it, Jo. I am not quite satisfied, but I can't blame you, for I know how willingly you sacrificed your vanity, as you call it, to your love.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He has his vanities as well as Miss Thorpe, and the chief difference is, that, having a stronger head, they have not yet injured himself.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

In my situation, it would have been the extreme of vanity to be forming expectations on Mr. Crawford.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

The real God taketh heed lest a sparrow fall; but the God created from human vanity sees no difference between an eagle and a sparrow.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

He was untamed, wild, and in secret ways her vanity was touched by the fact that he came so mildly to her hand.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)