vanity: Meaning and Definition of

van•i•ty

Pronunciation: (van'i-tē), [key]
— n., pl. adj. -ties,
—n.
  1. excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit: Failure to be elected was a great blow to his vanity.
  2. an instance or display of this quality or feeling.
  3. something about which one is vain.
  4. lack of real value; hollowness; worthlessness: the vanity of a selfish life.
  5. something worthless, trivial, or pointless.
  6. See
  7. See
  8. a wide, counterlike shelf containing a wash basin, as in the bathroom of a hotel or residence, often equipped with shelves, drawers, etc., underneath.
  9. a cabinet built below or around a bathroom sink, primarily to hide exposed pipes.
  10. compact (def. 13).
—adj.
  1. produced as a showcase for one's own talents, esp. as a writer, actor, singer, or composer: a vanity production.
  2. of, pertaining to, or issued by a vanity press: a spate of vanity books.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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