Synonyms

prideful

American

[prahyd-fuhl] / ˈpraɪd fəl /

adjective

thinking too highly of oneself; conceited, arrogant, or overconfident.

I was too bitter and prideful and didn't think I needed the Addiction Recovery meetings, so I didn’t go.
full of a legitimate sense of self-worth or satisfaction because of one’s own or another’s accomplishment.

It is a prideful moment for us as we congratulate our friend, one of ten winners of the annual Worldwide Robotics contest.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of prideful

pride ( def. ) + -ful ( def. )

Explanation

Someone who's prideful is arrogant and disdainful. Prideful people don't usually have many friends, since they think they're superior to everyone else. Although the adjective prideful is occasionally used simply to mean "proud," or pleased and happy because of some achievement or quality, it usually means something closer to "haughty." If you know someone who's beyond proud, believing they're smarter, more beautiful, or just generally better than most other people, you can describe that person as prideful.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing prideful

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Knoxville was a small but prideful city at the time.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

"I used to be prideful and probably would've looked down on somebody coming out of prison," she admits.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

This is not the time to be prideful about how much stress and responsibility you can take on.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

“I don’t care what’s happened — this is a prideful team,” McVay said of the Ravens.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 6, 2025

Shin remembers a stoutly built, prideful twelve-year-old named Ryu Hak Chul.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023