Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [in veyn]
- /ɪn veɪn/
- /ɪn veɪn/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
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- [in veyn]
- /ɪn veɪn/
Definitions of in vain words
- adjective in vain excessively proud of or concerned about one's own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited: a vain dandy. 1
- adjective in vain 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. 1
- adjective in vain ineffectual or unsuccessful; futile: vain hopes; a vain effort; a vain war. 1
- adjective in vain without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless: vain pageantry; vain display. 1
- adjective in vain Archaic. senseless or foolish. 1
- idioms in vain 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. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of in vain
First appearance:
before 1250 One of the 11% oldest English words
1250-1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin vānus empty, vain
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for In vain
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
in vain popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 88% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
in vain usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for in vain
adj in vain
- unproductive — having the power of producing; generative; creative: a productive effort.
- abortive — An abortive attempt or action is unsuccessful.
- ineffectual — not effectual; without satisfactory or decisive effect: an ineffectual remedy.
- ineffective — not effective; not producing results; ineffectual: ineffective efforts; ineffective remedies.
- useless — of no use; not serving the purpose or any purpose; unavailing or futile: It is useless to reason with him.
Antonyms for in vain
adj in vain
- effectual — producing or capable of producing an intended effect; adequate.
- fruitful — producing good results; beneficial; profitable: fruitful investigations.
- productive — having the power of producing; generative; creative: a productive effort.
- profitable — yielding profit; remunerative: a profitable deal.
- copious — A copious amount of something is a large amount of it.