Make Your Point: VAINGLORY

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pronounce VAINGLORY:

VAIN GLORE ee

connect this word to others:

The Latin vanus, "empty, void, or idle," gave us English words like vain, vanity, vanish, vainglory (which we're exploring today), vau__ ("to brag or boast"), and _van____ ("to fade away or disappear quickly)."

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Vainglory" traces back to the Medieval Latin phrase vana gloria, meaning "empty glory," and that's exactly what vainglory is: pride or boasting that's empty or exaggerated.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, most often the uncountable kind: "Those lyrics gross me out; they're full of violence and vainglory;" "He lists his accomplishments without a trace of vainglory."

Other forms:

If you need an adjective, there's "vainglorious," with the adverb "vaingloriously."

how to use it:

"Vainglory" is a semi-common word. It dates back to the 1300s in English, so it's got a serious, old-fashioned tone to it.

It's also pretty judgmental: if you're saying someone has vainglory, you're criticizing them or at least belittling them.

You might talk about someone's vainglory: "He's notorious for his vainglory;" "Her vainglory was on full display." Or you might say that someone is known for vainglory, or full of vainglory, or driven by vainglory.

But it's just as useful (and quite a bit nicer) to use "vainglory" in a negative sense: that is, to talk about people accomplishing extraordinary things without vainglory.

examples:

"[The photographer Tseng Kwong Chi] invited certain princelings of the New Right... to pose before a rumpled American flag. Tseng told them it would look as if it were billowing in the wind, but the flag just looks abused, and the men in front of it appear puffed with vainglory."
— Brian Dillon, The New Yorker, 23 June 2019

"[Agnes Gund] took the extraordinary decision... to sell a prized Roy Lichtenstein painting and to spend $100 million of the proceeds to fight mass incarceration... Her greatest legacy could be to inspire a new generation of philanthropists driven, like her, not by vainglory but by justice."
— Jason Farago, New York Times, 4 July 2018

has this page helped you understand "vainglory"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "vainglory" without saying "arrogance" or "self-importance."

try it out:

Lee Hall argued in the Guardian for the importance of community theater, noting that for the people who work there, "the hours are incredibly wearing, there is little glamour or vainglory, but the work is rich and rewarding."

With this in mind as an example, could you describe another job, career, or social endeavor that involves little to no vainglory, but is still very important?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Recapitate the Headlines."

I'll give you some real but decapitated headlines, along with a selection of heads, and you try to reassemble them as they were originally published. (Or, feel free to play in "wrong answers only" mode, assembling the headlines in whatever way you find funniest.) You can check out some examples here.

Try these today:

__________ blew sediment 30 feet in the air
__________ inundated Chicago restaurateur with BBQ sauce
__________ unleashed bees on deputies

Arrest warrant issued for Hadley woman who
A Yellowstone Sasquatch event
How to protect yourself from international scam that

To see the correct versions, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of VAINGLORY could be

A. CELERITY (speed, swiftness).
B. HUMILITY (modesty, reserve).
C. POMPOSITY (arrogance, self-importance).

2. In a book review, Dwight Garner wrote that Camille Paglia is "is vainglory on wheels," often _____.

A. delighting readers with unexpected hilarity
B. complimenting herself on her own cleverness
C. challenging, disturbing, even insulting readers

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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