- Today's Word
Vainglorious
[veyn-GLOR-ee-us]
Definition
- (noun) Someone who is excessively proud of their own achievements, abilities, or appearance. It refers to a person who is boastful and overly confident, often in a way that is irritating or offensive to others.
Example
The vainglorious CEO couldn’t stop talking about his company’s success, attributing every accomplishment to his own brilliance while ignoring the hard work of his team.
Fun Fact
The word “vainglorious” combines “vain,” meaning excessively proud of one’s appearance or achievements, and “glorious,” meaning deserving great admiration or praise. It has been in use since the 15th century, originating from the Latin “vana gloria” meaning “empty glory.” In medieval Christian theology, vainglory was considered one of the seven deadly sins, specifically a form of pride. Today, it’s often used to describe people who have an inflated sense of their own importance or accomplishments.
(noun) A form of irony in which a person pretends to refuse or show disinterest in something they actually desire
His accismus was obvious to everyone at the table — he waved off the dessert menu three times before finally ordering the chocolate cake.
Accismus comes directly from the Greek akkismos, meaning “prudery” or “affectation,” derived from Akkō, the name of a foolish woman in Greek legend known for her coy, affected behavior. It entered English as a formal rhetorical term, classified among the figures of speech used in classical oratory and persuasion.