vainglory
English
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vainglory
- [veɪnˈɡlɔː.ɹi] UK
- [ˈveɪnˌɡlɔɚ.i] US
Where it comes from
From Middle English waynglori (“worthless glory”), from Old French vaine glorie, from Medieval Latin vāna glōria, from Latin vāna (“empty, groundless, boastful”) + glōria (“fame, ambition, boasting”), apparently modelled after similar terms in Germanic languages. Compare Old English īdel wuldor (“vain glory”) and īdelġielp (“vainglory”).
noun vainglories
- Excessive vanity. For I dare boldly say, vainglory, that opinion of merit, and this enforced necessity, when they know not otherwise how to leave, or what better to do with them, is the main cause of most of our good works.
- Boastful, unwarranted pride in one's accomplishments or qualities. Then he reasoned, as he had in the days past, that the course of human history had shown national pride—the inflexible kind—to be mankind’s worst enemy, and ordinary people paid the price in suffering. Nations had gone down because of vainglory, when moderation might have civilized and saved them.
- Vain, ostentatious display. The pew would soon want new flooring, Mr. Dangerfield thought, and the Castlemallard arms and supporters, a rather dingy piece of vainglory, overhanging the main seat on the wall, would be nothing the worse of a little fresh gilding and paint.
- A regarding of oneself with undue favor.
verb vainglories · vainglorying · vaingloried
- To boast; to act in a vain manner.
Translations
Every language
noun excessive vanity
| Español | vanagloria |
|---|---|
| Português | vanglória |
| Deutsch | Eitelkeit |
| Italiano | vanagloria |
| Ελληνικά | ματαιοδοξία mataiodoxía |
| Русский | тщесла́вие tščeslávije |
noun boastful, unwarranted pride
| Español | vanagloria, jactancia |
|---|---|
| Português | vanglória |
| Français | gloriole |
| Deutsch | Prahlerei, Ruhmsucht |
| Ελληνικά | ματαιοδοξία mataiodoxía |
| Română | orgoliu |
| Русский | тщесла́вие tščeslávije, спесь spesʹ |
noun vain, ostentatious display
| Español | vanagloria |
|---|---|
| Português | vanglória |
| Deutsch | Prahlerei |
| Русский | тщесла́вие tščeslávije, хвастли́вость xvastlívostʹ |
noun a regarding of oneself with undue favor
| Português | vanglória |
|---|---|
| Français | vaine gloire |
| Русский | тщесла́вие tščeslávije, хвастли́вость xvastlívostʹ |
Talk about this word "vainglory." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/vainglory. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. vainglory. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/vainglory "vainglory." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/vainglory.Cite this
@misc{vainglory_2026,
title = {vainglory},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/vainglory},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
