vanity

The word “vanity” means excessive pride in one's own looks, abilities, or achievements. In plain terms, vanity mainly means excessive self-admiration, but it's also the everyday word for a sink-and-mirror bathroom unit.

“Vanity” is pronounced VA-nih-tee (/ˈvænəti/ in IPA).

Here is “vanity” used in a sentence: “His vanity made it hard for him to accept any criticism.”

Words with a similar meaning to “vanity” include arrogance.

“Vanity” is a noun.

The word “vanity” comes from Latin. From Old French vanité, from Latin vanitas — built on vanus, "empty" or "vain." The bathroom-furniture sense is a much later, purely English development, from the dressing tables once used for personal grooming.

“Vanity” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Vanity” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: excessive pride in one's own looks, abilities, or achievements.

"Vanity" specifically refers to excessive pride in one's own looks, abilities, or achievements, often tied to appearance, while "arrogance" more broadly describes an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or superiority, not necessarily linked to looks.

In this sense, "vanity" refers to something that has no real value or lasting importance, essentially emptiness, rather than personal pride. This meaning is common in reflective or philosophical writing about the fleeting nature of worldly pursuits.

A bathroom "vanity" is a cabinet built around a sink, or a small table with a mirror used for grooming, a meaning distinct from the personality trait of excessive pride.