vain
/veɪn/ adjective, verb
Forms vainer vainest vains vaining vained wayn
- adjective Overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason.
- adjective Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying.
- adjective Effecting no purpose; pointless, futile. “vain toil a vain attempt”
- adjective Showy; ostentatious.
- verb (transitive, rare, dated, obsolete) To frustrate.
Synonyms
conceited flatulent puffed up inflated airy arrogant chesty authoritarian biggity big-headed blustery turgescent boastful lordly bombastic buggish cocky disdainful domineering egotistical egotistic self-conceited swollen swollen-headed bootless fruitless futile sleeveless
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English veyn, from Old French vain, from Latin vānus (“empty”).
A conversion of the adjectival form of vain. The only use of this verb in English appears c. 1628 in the writings of Owen Felltham.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying. "Thy vain excuse." Shak.
- adjective Destitute of forge or efficacy; effecting no purpose; fruitless; ineffectual; as, vain toil; a vain attempt.
- noun Vanity; emptiness; --now used only in the phrase in vain. For vain. See In vain. [Obs.] Shak.
Etymology [F. vain, L. vanus empty, void, vain. Cf. Vanish, Vanity, Vaunt to boast.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “vain”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details