conceits
Fanciful artistic devices
Conceits are self-flattering beliefs or affectations, often unjustified: He has conceits about his importance.
In literature, a conceit is an elaborate or extended metaphor—a fanciful comparison that structures a poem or passage: The metaphysical poets were known for their conceits.
More neutrally, conceits can be artistic devices or imaginative notions: the conceits of romantic comedy.
Excessive self-importance
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- egotismInflated sense of self-importance
- vanityExcessive pride in oneself
- haughtinessDisdainful sense of superiority
smugness · self-importance · superiority · boastfulness · braggadocio · pomposity · presumption · loftiness
Implied identity comparison
- imageryVivid descriptive language
- extended metaphorFigurative comparison throughout text
- witClever, inventive humor
- wordplayVerbal wit techniques
allegory · paradox · antithesis · Petrarchan · Elizabethan · trope · figurative language · comparison
Deceptive outward show
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
- contrivanceClever invention or scheme
- gimmickAttention-getting device or trick
- notionImprecise mental impression
fancy · whim · stratagem · invention · imaginings · fancies · flights of fancy · pretensions
arrogance
Excessive self-importance
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- egotismInflated sense of self-importance
- vanityExcessive pride in oneself
haughtiness · smugness · self-importance · superiority · boastfulness · braggadocio · pomposity · presumption · loftiness · immodesty
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- imageryVivid descriptive language
- extended metaphorFigurative comparison throughout text
- witClever, inventive humor
wordplay · allegory · paradox · antithesis · Petrarchan · Elizabethan · trope · figurative language · comparison · analogy
pretense
Deceptive outward show
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
- contrivanceClever invention or scheme
- gimmickAttention-getting device or trick
notion · fancy · whim · stratagem · invention · imaginings · fancies · flights of fancy · pretensions · airs
- Baroque poetryrhetorical flourish, ornamentation, court poetry, sacred poetry, religious poetry
- Metaphysical PoetryJohn Donne, metaphysical poetry, extended metaphor, intellectualism, sacred verse
- imaginationimagination, daydreaming, daydreams, fantasies, fantasy
- apparitionsghosts, phantoms, specters, wraiths, shades
conceitshumilities
Absences of arrogance
humbleness · self-effacement · unpretentiousness · timidities · diffidence
conceitsplainness
Unadorned, straightforward quality
directness · straightforwardness · plain speech · artlessness · literalness
conceitsrealities
Things that exist
truths · facts · groundedness · level-headedness · actualities
- conceited personOne with inflated self-regard
conceive, conceited, conceit, conceiving, conceives, conceitedness, conceitedly, self-conceit