Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Feeling or showing excessive pride; haughty: Characterized by an inflated sense of one's own importance, often accompanied by a disdainful attitude toward others perceived as inferior.
   • Feeling or showing great pride and joy, especially due to success; exultant: Characterized by a deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions, often in a celebratory or triumphant context.

Usage

• The word "prideful" is used to describe a person's character, attitude, or behavior. It can carry a negative connotation of arrogance or a positive connotation of justified, joyful pride.
• It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like 'be', 'seem', 'become').

Examples

• Negative Connotation (Arrogant):
  • His prideful attitude made it difficult for him to accept constructive criticism.
  • She gave a prideful smirk, looking down on her competitors.
• Positive/Neutral Connotation (Exultant):
  • The team was prideful after their hard-won championship victory.
  • A prideful smile spread across her face as she accepted the award.

Advanced Usage

• Literary/Descriptive Use: Often used in literature and descriptive writing to convey a character's personality or a specific mood.
  • The king surveyed his lands with a prideful gaze.
• Comparative and Superlative Forms: "More prideful" and "most prideful" are commonly used, though "prouder" and "proudest" are more frequent for the positive sense.
  • He became even more prideful after his promotion.

Variants and Related Words

• Pridefully (adverb): In a prideful manner.
  • He pridefully refused any help.
• Pridefulness (noun): The quality or state of being prideful.
  • His pridefulness was his ultimate downfall.

Synonyms

• Arrogant: Having an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities.
• Haughty: Arrogantly superior and disdainful.
• Supercilious: Behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others.
• Disdainful: Showing contempt or lack of respect.
• Exultant: Triumphantly happy.
• Jubilant: Feeling or expressing great happiness and triumph.

Antonyms

• Humble: Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.
• Modest: Unassuming in the estimation of one's abilities or achievements.
• Meek: Quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive.

Idioms and Phrases

• "Prideful heart": A character or disposition marked by excessive pride.
  • His prideful heart prevented him from apologizing.
• "Prideful spirit": Similar to "prideful heart," indicating an inner attitude of arrogance.
  • She possessed a prideful spirit that both attracted and repelled people.

Adjective

1. joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
   • rejoicing crowds filled the streets on VJ Day
   • a triumphal success
   • a triumphant shout
2. having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
   • some economists are disdainful of their colleagues in other social disciplines
   • haughty aristocrats
   • his lordly manners were offensive
   • walked with a prideful swagger
   • very sniffy about breaches of etiquette
   • his mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious air
   • a more swaggering mood than usual- W.L.Shirer