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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A sense of one's own proper dignity or value; self-respect.
  2. n. Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association: parental pride.
  3. n. Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.
  4. n. A cause or source of pleasure or satisfaction; the best of a group or class: These soldiers were their country's pride.
  5. n. The most successful or thriving condition; prime: the pride of youth.
  6. n. An excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit.
  7. n. Mettle or spirit in horses.
  8. n. A company of lions. See Synonyms at flock1.
  9. n. A flamboyant or impressive group: a pride of acrobats.
  10. v. To indulge (oneself) in a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction: I pride myself on this beautiful garden.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. The state or condition of being proud, or a feeling of elation or exultation on account of what one is or has or is connected with, in any sense. Inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable estimate of one's own superiority, which manifests itself in lofty airs, reserve, and often in contempt of others.
  2. n. A becoming and dignified sense of what is due to one's personality, character, or position; firm self-respect.
  3. n. A reasonable feeling of elation or exultation in view of one's doings, achievements, or possessions, or those of a person or persons intimately connected with one.
  4. n. Haughty or arrogant bearing or conduct; overbearing treatment of others; insolent exultation; vainglorying.
  5. n. Exuberance of animal spirits; warmth of temperament; mettle.
  6. n. Hence Lust; sexual desire; especially, the excitement of the sexual appetite in a female animal.
  7. n. Wantonness; extravagance; excess; hence, impertinence; impudence.
  8. n. That which is or may be a cause of pride; that of which men are proud. Any person, body of persons, or object possessed which causes others to delight or glory.
  9. n. Highest pitch; elevation; loftiness; the best or most admired part of a thing; the height; full force, extent, or quantity.
  10. n. Decoration; ornament; beauty displayed; specifically, in heraldry, a term applicable to the peacock, turkey-cock, and other birds which spread their tails in a circular form, and drop their wings: as, a peacock in his pride.
  11. n. Splendid show; ostentation.
  12. n. A company or group (of lions).
  13. n. Lameness; impediment.
  14. n. Synonyms Pride, Egotism, Vanity, etc. (see egotism), self-exaltation, self-sufficiency, vainglory.
  15. n. Pride, Arrogance, Presumption, etc. (see arrogance), lordliness, hauteur.
  16. n. Ornament, glory, splendor.
  17. To indulge in pride, elation, or self-esteem; value (one's self): used reflexively.
  18. To spread, as a bird its tail-feathers.
  19. To be proud; exult; glory: sometimes with indefinite it.
  20. n. A kind of lamprey; especially, the mud-lamprey. See Ammocætes and lamprey. Also sand-pride and pride of the Isis.
  21. n. The larval lamprey.

Wiktionary

  1. n. The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank etc, which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve and often contempt of others.
  2. n. A sense of one's own worth, and abhorrence of what is beneath or unworthy of one; lofty self-respect; noble self-esteem; elevation of character; dignified bearing; proud delight; -- in a good sense.
  3. n. Proud or disdainful behavior or treatment; insolence or arrogance of demeanor; haughty bearing and conduct; insolent exultation; disdain; hubris.
  4. n. That of which one is proud; that which excites boasting or self-gratulation; the occasion or ground of self-esteem, or of arrogant and presumptuous confidence, as beauty, ornament, noble character, children etc.
  5. n. The small European lamprey species Petromyzon branchialis.
  6. n. Show; ostentation; glory.
  7. n. Highest pitch; elevation reached; loftiness; prime; glory.
  8. n. Consciousness of power; fullness of animal spirits; mettle; wantonness.
  9. n. Lust; sexual desire; especially, excitement of sexual appetite in a female beast.
  10. n. A company of lions.
  11. v. To take or experience pride in something, be proud of it.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A small European lamprey (Petromyzon branchialis); -- called also prid, and sandpiper.
  2. n. The quality or state of being proud; inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others.
  3. n. A sense of one's own worth, and abhorrence of what is beneath or unworthy of one; lofty self-respect; noble self-esteem; elevation of character; dignified bearing; proud delight; -- in a good sense.
  4. n. Proud or disdainful behavior or treatment; insolence or arrogance of demeanor; haughty bearing and conduct; insolent exultation; disdain.
  5. n. That of which one is proud; that which excites boasting or self-gratulation; the occasion or ground of self-esteem, or of arrogant and presumptuous confidence, as beauty, ornament, noble character, children, etc.
  6. n. Show; ostentation; glory.
  7. n. Highest pitch; elevation reached; loftiness; prime; glory.
  8. n. Consciousness of power; fullness of animal spirits; mettle; wantonness; hence, lust; sexual desire; esp., an excitement of sexual appetite in a female beast.
  9. v. To indulge in pride, or self-esteem; to rate highly; to plume; -- used reflexively.
  10. v. To be proud; to glory.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. satisfaction with your (or another's) achievements
  2. n. a feeling of self-respect and personal worth
  3. n. a group of lions
  4. n. unreasonable and inordinate self-esteem (personified as one of the deadly sins)
  5. v. be proud of
  6. n. the trait of being spurred on by a dislike of falling below your standards

Etymologies

  1. Middle English, from Old English prȳde, from prūd, proud; see proud.

Examples

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Lists

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Comments

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  • brobbins excellency Jul 23, 2009

  • qroqqa As a verb, for me this requires its object to be reflexive: Mary prided herself on her wit. (So also avail, behave, busy, comport, ingratiate, perjure) The OED however cites a number of modern instances of non-reflexive objects, e.g.

    Mr Keating has long prided his record of bringing Budgets in on target . . .
    He prided his character and dignity over failure and temporary constraints.
    My husband prides us greatly.

    These all strike me as errors. I will a little reluctanctly concede the grammaticality of pride in + gerund-participial clause, as in A liberal such as Sally Watson, who prided in, among her broad-minded accomplishments, having had a Puerto Rican husband and two black lovers. Even that I don't like. I might say it, but I would still strongly prefer prided herself on having. However, this appears to be a dialect difference. Jun 19, 2009

  • sonofgroucho Pride goes before a fall. Nov 30, 2007

‘pride’ has been looked up 2513 times, loved by 4 people, added to 28 lists, commented on 3 times, and has a Scrabble score of 8.