conceit means something conceived in the mind; an idea, a thought. It carries an Arena rating of 1613, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, conceit ranks #2,309 of 14,431 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #2,350 of 14,448 for Most Incisive Words, #5,874 of 14,308 for Most Malleable Words, #6,183 of 14,322 for Scariest Words.
conceit is pronounced /kənˈsiːt/.
Why “conceit” is a great word
An elaborate, often strained, metaphorical idea or device pursued with excessive ingenuity. From Middle English conceyte, formed from the verb conceyven (to conceive) by analogy with word pairs like deceive~deceit and receive~receipt; first recorded in English 1350–1400. Unlike pride, which may be a rightful satisfaction, or a standard metaphor, which is a singular, illuminating comparison, a conceit is a sustained, intellectual extravagance that becomes the very architecture of a work. It is the lover’s soul as a draftsman’s compass, the world as a stage, or the flea swollen with mingled blood—a beautiful, improbable engine built to prove a point about connection, leaving us to wonder if the deepest truths require the most artificial frames.
Etymology
From Middle English conceyte, formed from conceyven by analogy with pairs such as (Modern English) deceive~deceit, receive~receipt etc. Doublet of concept and concetto. Akin to Portuguese conceito.
noun
- Something conceived in the mind; an idea, a thought.e.g.“In laughing, there ever procedeth a conceit of somewhat ridiculous.”
- The faculty of conceiving ideas; mental faculty; apprehension.e.g.“a man of quick conceit”
- Quickness of apprehension; active imagination; lively fancy.e.g.“His wit's as thick as Tewksbury mustard; there is no more conceit in him than is in a mallet.”
- Opinion, (neutral) judgment.
- Esteem, favourable opinion.e.g.“By him that me boughte, than quod Dysdayne, / I wonder sore he is in suche cenceyte.”
- A novel or fanciful idea; a whim.e.g.“On his way to the gibbet, a freak took him in the head to go off with a conceit.”
- An ingenious expression or metaphorical idea, especially in extended form or used as a literary or rhetorical device.
- Overly high self-esteem; vain pride; hubris.e.g.“Plum'd with conceit he calls aloud.”
- Design; pattern.e.g.“And yet I know not how conceit may rob the treasury of life when life itself yields to the theft;”
verb
- To form an idea; to think.e.g.“Those whose […] vulgar apprehensions conceit but low of matrimonial purposes.”
- To conceive.e.g.“[T]his Medicine he conceits worse than the Disesase.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- concetto 88% match — Affected wit; a witty turn of phrase; a conceit. vs conceit →
- metaphor 82% match — The use of a word, phrase, concept, or set of concepts to refer to something other than its literal meaning, invoking an implicit similarity between the thing described and what is denoted by the word, etc., that is used. vs conceit →
- simile 82% match — A figure of speech in which one thing is explicitly compared to another, using e.g. like or as. vs conceit →
- allusion 82% match — An indirect reference; a hint; a reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned. vs conceit →
- imagination 81% match — The image-making power of the mind; the act of mentally creating or reproducing an object not previously perceived; the ability to create such images. vs conceit →
- meaning 81% match — The denotation, referent, or idea connected with a word, expression, or symbol. vs conceit →
- sonnet 81% match — A fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of fourteen lines that are typically five-foot iambics and rhyme according to one of a few prescribed schemes. vs conceit →
- connote 81% match — To signify beyond its literal or principal meaning. vs conceit →