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February 20, 2016 Word of the Day

vain /ˈveɪn/ adjective
vain
/ˈveɪn/
adjective

vainer; vainest

Vain man taking a picture of himself
Vain man taking a picture of himself
Definition of VAIN

1 [also more vain; most vain] : too proud of your own appearance, abilities, achievements, etc. : CONCEITED

  • She is very vain about her appearance.

  • He is the vainest man I know.

2 : having no success : not producing a desired result

  • They made a vain [=unsuccessful] attempt to escape.

  • A vain effort to quell the public's fears only made matters worse.

  • Volunteers searched the area in the vain hope of finding clues.

in vain

: without success : without producing a good or desired result

  • We searched in vain for the missing earring. [=we searched for the missing earring but did not find it]

  • He tried in vain to get the baby to sleep.

  • ◾Her suffering will not be in vain. [=something good will happen because of her suffering]

take someone's name in vain

: to use (a name, especially the name of God) in a way that does not show proper respect

  • He took God's name in vain.

  • (humorous) I thought I heard someone taking my name in vain. [=saying my name]

vainly adverb

  • We tried vainly to get a taxi.

  • Volunteers vainly searched for clues.

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