pride

—prideful, adj. —pridefully, adv. —pridefulness, n. —prideless, adj. —pridelessly, adv.

/pruyd/, n., v., prided, priding.

n.

1. a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

2. the state or feeling of being proud.

3. a becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self-respect; self-esteem.

4. pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself: civic pride.

5. something that causes a person or persons to be proud: His art collection was the pride of the family.

6. the best of a group, class, society, etc.: This bull is the pride of the herd.

7. the most flourishing state or period: in the pride of adulthood.

8. mettle in a horse.

9. Literary. splendor, magnificence, or pomp.

10. a group of lions.

11. sexual desire, esp. in a female animal.

12. ornament or adornment.

13. pride and joy, someone or something cherished, valued, or enjoyed above all others: Their new grandchild is their pride and joy.

v.t.

14. to indulge or plume (oneself) in a feeling of pride (usually fol. by on or upon): She prides herself on her tennis.

[bef. 1000; ME (n.); OE pryde (c. ON prythi bravery, pomp), deriv. of prud PROUD]

Syn. 1. PRIDE, CONCEIT, SELF-ESTEEM, EGOTISM, VANITY, VAINGLORY imply an unduly favorable idea of one's own appearance, advantages, achievements, etc., and often apply to offensive characteristics. PRIDE is a lofty and often arrogant assumption of superiority in some respect: Pride must have a fall. CONCEIT implies an exaggerated estimate of one's own abilities or attainments, together with pride: blinded by conceit. SELF-ESTEEM may imply an estimate of oneself that is higher than that held by others: a ridiculous self-esteem.

EGOTISM implies an excessive preoccupation with oneself or with one's own concerns, usually but not always accompanied by pride or conceit: His egotism blinded him to others' difficulties. VANITY implies self-admiration and an excessive desire to be admired by others: His vanity was easily flattered. VAINGLORY, somewhat literary, implies an inordinate and therefore empty or unjustified pride: puffed up by vainglory. 5. boast.

Ant. 1. humility.

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