# vanity

Pronunciation: US say "VAN-uh-tee" /ˈvænəti/; UK say "VAN-i-tee" /ˈvænɪti/

## Noun

1. Self-admiration carried too far, whether over one's appearance, abilities, accomplishments, or possessions.
   - Simple: Too much pride in yourself, such as in your looks, skills, successes, or the things you own.
   - _The salesman flattered the old man's vanity until he signed for the most expensive car on the lot._
   - _Vanity kept him from admitting that he needed reading glasses._
2. A piece of bathroom furniture in which a washbasin is built into a permanently fixed storage unit.
   - Simple: A bathroom sink built into a cabinet that is fixed in place and used for storage.
   - _The contractor tore out the old pedestal sink and installed a double vanity with two faucets._
   - _Spare towels and cleaning supplies are kept in the drawers of the bathroom vanity._
3. A dressing table used for putting on makeup, grooming oneself, and styling one's hair, usually fairly low and much like a desk.
   - Simple: A table, usually low and like a desk, used for doing your makeup and hair and making yourself look nice.
   - _Every morning she sat at her vanity, pinning her hair up in front of the mirror._
   - _The antique vanity in the guest bedroom still has its velvet stool and a drawer full of old cosmetics._
4. The quality of being futile, empty, or worthless; lack of real value, use, or purpose.
   - Simple: The quality of being empty and useless, with no real value or purpose.
   - _The general's memoir dwells on the vanity of a war in which thousands died for a few miles of mud._
   - _The preacher reminded the mourners of the vanity of storing up riches that no one can carry beyond the grave._

## Noun

5. Any idea, theory, or statement that is groundless, with nothing to support it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An idea, theory, or claim that has nothing real to support it.

## Origin

Latin vānitas, built on vānus (the source of English vain), passed into Old French as vanité and into Middle English as vanite. The word can also be analyzed as vain plus -ity, and vanitas is a doublet.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/vanity (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).