vainglory

[veɪnˈɡlɔː.ɹi]

/[veɪnˈɡlɔː.ɹi]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"vainglory" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vainglory” is uncommon English (frequency #84,874 among 969 “V” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,874
frequency rank, English
969
“V” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Excessive vanity.

Corpus desk

Index EN-vainglory · vainglory · English

vainglory · rank #84,874 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,874
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 969
  • PHOTO-FINISH Valderrama

Nearest frequency peer: Valderrama (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “vainglory”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “vainglory” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for vainglory
PropertyValue
Headwordvainglory
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[veɪnˈɡlɔː.ɹi]
Letters9
Frequency rank#84,874
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “vainglory” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).vaingloryfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Valderrama” (#84,875), “Vaud” (#84,877), “upsell” (#84,869). Among 969 “V” headwords, “vainglory” is #84,874. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

vainglory is uncommon English at frequency #84,874 among 969 “V” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [veɪnˈɡlɔː.ɹi]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for vainglory, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English waynglori (“worthless glory”), from Old French vaine glorie, from Medieval Latin vāna glōria, from Latin vāna (“empty, groundless, boastful”) + glōria (“fame, ambition, boasting”), apparently modelled after similar terms in Germanic lang… The correct English form is vainglory, spelled V-A-I-N-G-L-O-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Excessive vanity.
  2. 2
    Boastful, unwarranted pride in one's accomplishments or qualities.
  3. 3
    Vain, ostentatious display.
  4. 4
    A regarding of oneself with undue favor.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how vainglory appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Then he reasoned, as he had in the days past, that the course of human history had shown national pride—the inflexible kind—to be mankind’s worst enemy, and ordinary people paid the price in suffering. Nations had gone down because of vainglory, when moderation might have civilized and saved them.
  2. The pew would soon want new flooring, Mr. Dangerfield thought, and the Castlemallard arms and supporters, a rather dingy piece of vainglory, overhanging the main seat on the wall, would be nothing the worse of a little fresh gilding and paint.

Etymology

From Middle English waynglori (“worthless glory”), from Old French vaine glorie, from Medieval Latin vāna glōria, from Latin vāna (“empty, groundless, boastful”) + glōria (“fame, ambition, boasting”), apparently modelled after similar terms in Germanic languages. Compare Old English īdel wuldor (“vain glory”) and īdelġielp (“vainglory”).

This word in other languages

vanagloria(Español)gloriole(Français)Eitelkeit(Deutsch)vanglória(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "vainglory"?
"vainglory" is spelled V-A-I-N-G-L-O-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [veɪnˈɡlɔː.ɹi].
What does "vainglory" mean?
As a noun, "vainglory" means: Excessive vanity.
How do you pronounce "vainglory"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vainglory" is [veɪnˈɡlɔː.ɹi]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "vainglory"?
From Middle English waynglori (“worthless glory”), from Old French vaine glorie, from Medieval Latin vāna glōria, from Latin vāna (“empty, groundless, boastful”) + glōria (“fame, ambition, boasting”), apparently modelled after similar terms in Ger... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "vainglory", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Venkatesh#84,879vitrified#84,887uncharged#84,860Watkinson#84,898

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list