 5 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
vanity
noun
1: feelings of excessive pride [syn: {amour propre}, {conceit},
{self-love}]
2: the quality of being valueless or futile; "he rejected the
vanities of the world" [syn: {emptiness}]
3: the trait of being vain and conceited [syn: {conceit}]
4: low table with mirror or mirrors where one sits while
dressing or applying makeup [syn: {dressing table}, {dresser},
{toilet table}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Vanity \Van"i*ty\, noun; pl. {Vanities}. [OE. vanite, vanit['e],
L. vanitas, fr. vanus empty, vain. See {Vain}.]
1. The quality or state of being vain; want of substance to
satisfy desire; emptiness; unsubstantialness; unrealness;
falsity.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of
vanities; all is vanity. --Eccl. i. 2.
Here I may well show the vanity of that which is
reported in the story of Walsingham. --Sir J.
Davies.
2. An inflation of mind upon slight grounds; empty pride
inspired by an overweening conceit of one's personal
attainments or decorations; an excessive desire for notice
or approval; pride; ostentation; conceit.
The exquisitely sensitive vanity of Garrick was
galled. --Macaulay.
3. That which is vain; anything empty, visionary, unreal, or
unsubstantial; fruitless desire or effort; trifling labor
productive of no good; empty pleasure; vain pursuit; idle
show; unsubstantial enjoyment.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher. --Eccl. i.
2.
Vanity possesseth many who are desirous to know the
certainty of things to come. --Sir P.
Sidney.
[Sin] with vanity had filled the works of men.
--Milton.
Think not, when woman's transient breath is fled,
That all her vanities at once are dead;
Succeeding vanities she still regards. --Pope.
4. One of the established characters in the old moralities
and puppet shows. See {Morality}, noun, 5.
You . . . take vanity the puppet's part. --Shak.
5. same as {dressing table}.
[PJC]
6. A cabinet built around a bathroom sink, usually with a
countertop and sometimes drawers.
[PJC]
Syn: Egotism; pride; emptiness; worthlessness;
self-sufficiency. See {Egotism}, and {Pride}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Dressing table \Dressing table\, noun
a table, usually having a vertical back piece containing a
mirror, at which a person may sit while dressing or applying
makeup, and on which articles for the toilet stand. It often
has drawers for toiletries, clothing, or accessories. It is
also called a {vanity} or {vanity table}.
[PJC]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
104 Moby Thesaurus words for "vanity":
absurdity, aimlessness, amour propre, arrogance, autotheism,
big deal, bluster, boast, boastfulness, boasting, bombast,
bootlessness, brag, braggadocio, braggartism, bragging, bravado,
cockiness, conceit, conceitedness, egotism, emptiness, face,
fanfaronade, fatuity, fecklessness, flimsiness, folly, foolishness,
frivolity, frivolousness, fruitlessness, futility, gasconade,
gasconism, haughtiness, heroics, hollowness, idleness, impotence,
inanity, independence, ineffectiveness, ineffectuality, inefficacy,
jactation, jactitation, levity, lightness, meaninglessness,
narcissism, nugacity, otiosity, pardonable pride, pointlessness,
pride, pridefulness, profitlessness, proudness, purposelessness,
purse-pride, rat race, rodomontade, self-admiration, self-conceit,
self-confidence, self-consequence, self-esteem, self-importance,
self-love, self-reliance, self-respect, self-sufficiency,
self-worship, shallowness, side, silliness, slenderness,
slightness, stiff-necked pride, stiff-neckedness, superficiality,
swagger, the absurd, triflingness, triteness, triviality,
trivialness, unproductiveness, unprofitability, unprofitableness,
unreality, uselessness, vacuity, vacuousness, vainglory, vainness,
valuelessness, vapidity, vaunt, vauntery, vaunting, vicious circle,
worthlessness
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
VANITY, noun The tribute of a fool to the worth of the nearest ass.
They say that hens do cackle loudest when
There's nothing vital in the eggs they've laid;
And there are hens, professing to have made
A study of mankind, who say that men
Whose business 'tis to drive the tongue or pen
Make the most clamorous fanfaronade
O'er their most worthless work; and I'm afraid
They're not entirely different from the hen.
Lo! the drum-major in his coat of gold,
His blazing breeches and high-towering cap --
Imperiously pompous, grandly bold,
Grim, resolute, an awe-inspiring chap!
Who'd think this gorgeous creature's only virtue
Is that in battle he will never hurt you?
Hannibal Hunsiker
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