vainglorious

[ veyn-glawr-ee-uhs, -glohr- ]

adjective

1. filled with or given to vainglory:

   a vainglorious actor.

2. characterized by, showing, or proceeding from vainglory:

   a vainglorious estimate of one's ability.

Other Words From

• vain·glori·ous·ly adverb
• vain·glori·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vainglorious¹

First recorded in 1470–80; vainglory + -ous

Example Sentences

As Charles Foster Kane, a sendup of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, Welles embodied the image of a vainglorious Great Man.

From Los Angeles Times

As the team takes samples to measure water quality, they do not mince their words about the train, calling it a "pharaonic monument" which they say was erected to a vainglorious leader.

From BBC

The tragedy is that reality does not care one iota for our vainglorious beliefs.

From Scientific American

The vainglorious financiers will soon have company—namely, deep-sea mining companies seeking to capitalize on society's surging demand for electric vehicles and other ostensibly “green” technologies.

From Scientific American

Our third former home secretary told me "it was vainglorious" to try to cap numbers at 100,000, a figure that now seems totally and utterly out of reach.

From BBC