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Showing results for vain. Search instead for vaing.
Definitions

vain

[veyn] / veɪn /
ADJECTIVE
egotistical
Synonyms
STRONGEST
arrogant cocky
WEAK
big-headed boastful conceited egocentric egoistic haughty high-and-mighty inflated narcissistic ostentatious overweening pleased with oneself proud puffed up self-important stuck-up swaggering swollen-headed vainglorious
Antonyms
STRONGEST
humble
WEAK
modest possible shy
ADJECTIVE
futile, useless
Synonyms
STRONGEST
frivolous fruitless petty trivial
WEAK
abortive barren bootless delusive delusory empty going nowhere hollow idle in vicious circle inefficacious insignificant misleading no-win not a prayer nugatory on a treadmill otiose paltry pointless profitless puny senseless shuck slight sterile time-wasting trifling unavailing unimportant unnotable unproductive unprofitable valueless void worthless
Antonyms
STRONGEST
consequential important significant useful
WEAK
modest possible shy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, the staff tried in vain to save the program.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

The last few hours were all in vain.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

The Pentagon has since tried in vain to demote his military rank and a grand jury have declined to charge him with seditious conspiracy.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

So far, so clear, but even given the program’s three-sentence synopsis, what unfolds around the vain King fails to deliver narrative clarity.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Before her stretched a vast treeless waste, where heather and dwarf willow hugged the ground in a vain attempt to avoid the wind; where small peat-brown lakes shivered amid tossing marsh grass.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.