Pride

/praɪd/

nounB1

Definition

Pride means feeling good about yourself or someone else because of achievements, qualities, or belonging to a group. It can be a positive feeling when you do something well or feel confident. Sometimes, pride can also mean feeling too important or better than others.

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See It in Action

A feeling of satisfaction and happiness about achievements or qualities

  • She felt pride when she graduated from university.
  • Parents often feel pride when their children do well in school.
  • He took pride in his work and always tried his best.

A sense of self-respect or dignity

  • It’s important to have pride in who you are.
  • The team showed pride by wearing their uniforms with care.

(Less positive) Feeling too important or better than others

  • His pride made it hard for him to ask for help.
  • Sometimes pride can stop people from saying sorry.

Make It Stick

  • Think of "pride" like "happy" (A1 word), but it is a special happy feeling about yourself or your work.
  • Picture a child showing a drawing to their parents and feeling warm and joyful inside because they did a good job.
  • It’s the feeling you get when you finish a hard task and want to smile because you did well.
  • Sounds like "pride" → imagine a lion (pride also means a group of lions) standing tall and strong, feeling powerful and proud.
  • Think of stories where heroes feel proud after helping others or winning a challenge.
  • NOT like "arrogance" (feeling too good and looking down on others), pride is often a healthy and happy feeling about yourself.
  • NOT like "shame" (feeling bad about yourself), pride is the opposite—feeling good and confident.
  • Pride can come from inside yourself or from others recognizing your good work.

Try Other Words

  • Self-respect: feeling good about yourself (Use when focusing on dignity or personal value)
  • Satisfaction: feeling pleased because of success (Use when emphasizing completion or achievement)
  • Vanity: too much pride about appearance or abilities (Use when pride is negative or too strong)

Unboxing

  • Word parts: "pride" is a simple root word without prefix or suffix.
  • Etymology: From Old English "prȳde," meaning joy or satisfaction.
  • Historical development: The word originally meant pleasure or joy and later included the idea of self-respect and sometimes excessive feeling of importance.
  • Modern usage: Used to express positive feelings about achievements, identity, or sometimes negative feelings when pride is too strong.

Reflect & Connect

When is pride a good feeling, and when can it become a problem?
How does pride affect your actions when you succeed or fail?

Fill in the blanks

1.She felt pride ___ her hard work and good results.
2.Sometimes pride makes people ___ to admit they are wrong.
3.The team showed pride ___ their uniforms and their country.
4.Pride is different from happiness because it is about feeling good ___ something specific you or others did.
5.When you have pride, you usually want to ___ your success with others.
6.Too much pride can cause problems because it might make someone ___ help.
7.Parents often feel pride ___ their children’s achievements and growth.