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vain
[veyn]
adjective
excessively proud of or concerned about one's own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited.
a vain dandy.
Synonyms: , , , , ,Antonyms:proceeding from or showing pride in or concern about one's appearance, qualities, etc.; resulting from or displaying vanity.
He made some vain remarks about his accomplishments.
ineffectual or unsuccessful; futile.
vain hopes;
a vain effort;
a vain war.
Synonyms: ,Antonyms:without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless.
vain pageantry;
vain display.
Synonyms: , ,Archaic.senseless or foolish.
vain
/ ɪ /
adjective
inordinately proud of one's appearance, possessions, or achievements
given to ostentatious display, esp of one's beauty
worthless
senseless or futile
noun
to no avail; fruitlessly
to use the name of someone, esp God, without due respect or reverence
humorousto mention someone's name
Other 51Թ Forms
- vainly adverb
- vainness noun
- unvain adjective
- unvainness noun
- ˈԲԱ noun
- ˈԱ adverb
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of vain1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of vain1
Idioms and Phrases
in vain,
without effect or avail; to no purpose.
lives lost in vain;
to apologize in vain.
in an improper or irreverent manner.
to take God's name in vain.
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Such is the impact the left-footed winger had the season before last that Ferreira tried, in vain, to convince the club board not to sell him.
Luis Neves, the National Director of the Polícia Judiciária, the Portuguese equivalent of the FBI, said at the end of the week that, "nothing is in vain, not least because doors are being closed".
But even though President Trump didn't manage to get a rise out of the South African president, that does not mean his efforts over more than an hour were in vain; they certainly were not.
Successive governments have battled largely in vain to reduce net migration, which is the number of people coming to the UK minus the number leaving.
In vain, his lawyers had argued that, through his father, Thiam had French nationality from birth - which, if accepted, would exempt him from the dual nationality ban.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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