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
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
Olivier Sylvain, Fortune, 16 May 2026
Canet has to do some gymnastics to sell several of his conceits, and a few reveals land with the thud of too-easy convenience.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
The conceit also has a moral dimension.
—Alex Barasch, New Yorker, 11 May 2026
Visually striking, and a clever way to represent the conceit of the book.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for conceit
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Noun
This statute, colloquially called Section 230 for its place in the Communications Act, rests on the conceit that, free from the threat of litigation, platforms would do good and attend to user preferences far better than regulators ever could.
—Olivier Sylvain, Fortune, 16 May 2026
Canet has to do some gymnastics to sell several of his conceits, and a few reveals land with the thud of too-easy convenience.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
The conceit also has a moral dimension.
—Alex Barasch, New Yorker, 11 May 2026
Visually striking, and a clever way to represent the conceit of the book.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for conceit
Cite this Entry
“Conceit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conceit. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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