Vain

• POS: Adjective, Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

Vain, a. [F. vain, L. vanus empty, void, vain. Cf. Vanish, Vanity, Vaunt to boast.].

•  Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

  "Every man walketh in a vain show."  [1913 Webster]

  "Let no man deceive you with vain words."  [1913 Webster]

  "Vain pomp, and glory of this world, I hate ye!"  [1913 Webster]

  "Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy."  [1913 Webster]
•  Destitute of force or efficacy; effecting no purpose; fruitless; ineffectual; as, vain toil; a vain attempt.  [1913 Webster]

  "Bring no more vain oblations."  [1913 Webster]

  "Vain is the force of man
  To crush the pillars which the pile sustain."  [1913 Webster]
•  Proud of petty things, or of trifling attainments; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason; conceited; puffed up; inflated.  [1913 Webster]

  "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?"  [1913 Webster]

  "The minstrels played on every side,
  Vain of their art."  [1913 Webster]
•  Showy; ostentatious.  [1913 Webster]

  "Load some vain church with old theatric state."  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- Empty; worthless; fruitless; ineffectual; idle; unreal; shadowy; showy; ostentatious; light; inconstant; deceitful; delusive; unimportant; trifling.

Vain, n. 

 Vanity; emptiness; -- now used only in the phrase in vain.  [1913 Webster]

For vain. See In vain. [Obs.] Shak. -- In vain, to no purpose; without effect; ineffectually. “ In vain doth valor bleed.” Milton. “ In vain they do worship me.” Matt. xv. 9. -- To take the name of God in vain, to use the name of God with levity or profaneness.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Vain, adj.
1 excessively proud or conceited, esp. about one's own attributes.
2 empty, trivial, unsubstantial (vain boasts; vain triumphs).
3 useless; followed by no good result (in the vain hope of dissuading them).

Idiom

in vain without result or success (it was in vain that we protested). take a person's name in vain use it lightly or profanely.

Derivative

vainly adv. vainness n.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. L vanus empty, without substance

THESAURUS

Vain

Gascon, abortive, absurd, airy, arrogant, asinine, barren, baseless, boastful, boasting, bootless, bootlessly, braggart, bragging, catchpenny, cocky, complacent, conceited, consequential, counterproductive, coxcombical, dandyish, delusive, delusory, doomed, effete, egocentric, egoistic, egotistical, empty, etiolated, fanfaron, fanfaronading, fatuitous, fatuous, feckless, flimsy, foolish, foppish, foredoomed, fribble, fribbling, frivolous, frothy, fruitless, fruitlessly, futile, futilely, gasconading, groundless, haughty, hollow, idle, ill-founded, improperly, in vain, inadequate, inane, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, inoperative, invalid, light, misleading, narcissan, narcissine, narcissistic, narcistic, nugacious, nugatory, of no force, otiose, overproud, overweening, paltry, petty, pointless, profitless, proud, puny, self-admiring, self-advertising, self-applauding, self-approving, self-assuming, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-congratulating, self-congratulatory, self-content, self-contented, self-delighting, self-endeared, self-esteeming, self-flattering, self-glorious, self-gratulating, self-gratulatory, self-important, self-lauding, self-loving, self-respecting, self-satisfied, self-sufficient, self-vaunting, shallow, silly, slender, slight, smug, sterile, stuck-up, superficial, thrasonic, thrasonical, trifling, trite, trivial, unavailable, unavailing, unbased, unfounded, ungrounded, unproductive, unprofitable, unsuccessful, unsuccessfully, unsupportable, unsupported, unsustainable, unsustained, untenable, unwarranted, useless, vacuous, vainglorious, vainly, valueless, vapid, vaporing, vaunting, void, windy, without basis, without foundation, worthless

ROGET THESAURUS

Vain

Inexistence

N inexistence, nonexistence, nonsubsistence, nonentity, nil, negativeness, nullity, nihility, nihilism, tabula rasa, blank, abeyance, absence, no such thing, nonbeing, nothingness, oblivion, annihilation, extinction, extinguishment, extirpation, Nirvana, obliteration, inexistent, nonexistent, negative, blank, missing, omitted, absent, insubstantial, shadowy, spectral, visionary, unreal, potential, virtual, baseless, in nubibus, unsubstantial, vain, unborn, uncreated, unbegotten, unconceived, unproduced, unmade, perished, annihilated extinct, exhausted, gone, lost, vanished, departed, gone with the wind, defunct, fabulous, ideal, supposititious &c, negatively, virtually, non ens.

Unimportance

N unimportance, insignificance, nothingness, immateriality, triviality, levity, frivolity, paltriness, poverty, smallness, vanity, matter of indifference, no object, nothing, nothing to signify, nothing worth speaking of, nothing particular, nothing to boast of, nothing to speak of, small matter, no great matter, trifling matter, mere joke, mere nothing, hardly anything, scarcely anything, nonentity, small beer, cipher, no great shakes, peu de chose, child's play, kinderspiel, toy, plaything, popgun, paper pellet, gimcrack, gewgaw, bauble, trinket, bagatelle, Rickshaw, knickknack, whim-wham, trifle, trifles light as air, yankee notions, trumpery, trash, rubbish, stuff, fatras, frippery, leather or prunello, chaff, drug, froth bubble smoke, cobweb, weed, refuse, scum, joke, jest, snap of the fingers, fudge, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, pack of nonsense, mere farce, straw, pin, fig, button, rush, bulrush, feather, halfpenny, farthing, brass farthing, doit, peppercorn, jot, rap, pinch of snuff, old son, cent, mill, picayune, pistareen, red cent, minutiae, details, minor details, small fry, dust in the balance, feather in the scale, drop in the ocean, flea-bite, molehill, nine days' wonder, ridiculus mus, flash in the pan, much ado about nothing, unimportant, of little account, of small account, of no account, of little importance, of no importance, immaterial, unessential, nonessential, indifferent, subordinate, mediocre, passable, fair, respectable, tolerable, commonplace, uneventful, mere, common, ordinary, inconsiderable, so-so, insignificant, inappreciable, trifling, trivial, slight, slender, light, flimsy, frothy, idle, puerile, airy, shallow, weak, powerless, frivolous, petty, niggling, piddling, peddling, fribble, inane, ridiculous, farcical, finical, finikin, fiddle-faddle, fingle-fangle, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, milk and water, poor, paltry, pitiful, contemptible, sorry, mean, meager, shabby, miserable, wretched, vile, scrubby, scrannel, weedy, niggardly, scurvy, putid, beggarly, worthless, twopennyhalfpenny, cheap, trashy, catchpenny, gimcrack, trumpery, one- horse, not worth the pains, not worth while, not worth mentioning, not worth speaking of, not worth a thought, not worth a curse, not worth a straw, beneath notice, unworthy of notice, beneath regard, unworthy of regard, beneath consideration, unworthy of consideration, de lana caprina, vain, slightly, rather, somewhat, pretty well, tolerably, for aught one cares, Int, no matter!, pish!, tush!, tut!, pshaw!, pugh!, pooh, pooh-pooh!, fudge!, bosh!, humbug!, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end!, fiddlededee!, never mind!, n'importe!, what signifies it, what boots it, what of it, what of that, what matter, what's the odds, a fig for', stuff!, nonsense!, stuff and nonsense, magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, it matters not, it does not signify, it is of no consequence, it is of no importance, elephantus non capit murem, tempete dans un verre d'eau.

Inutility

N inutility, uselessness, inefficacy, futility, ineptitude, inaptitude, unsubservience, inadequacy, inefficiency, unskillfulness, disservice, unfruitfulness (unproductiveness), labor in vain, labor lost, labor of Sisyphus, lost trouble, lost labor, work of Penelope, sleeveless errand, wild goose chase, mere farce, tautology, supererogation, vanitas vanitatum, vanity, inanity, worthlessness, nugacity, triviality, caput mortuum, waste paper, dead letter, blunt tool, litter, rubbish, junk, lumber, odds and ends, cast-off clothes, button top, shoddy, rags, orts, trash, refuse, sweepings, scourings, offscourings, waste, rubble, debris, detritus, stubble, leavings, broken meat, dregs, weeds, tares, rubbish heap, dust hole, rudera, deads, fruges consumere natus, useless, inutile, inefficacious, futile, unavailing, bootless, inoperative, inadequate, inservient, unsubservient, inept, inefficient, of no avail, ineffectual, incompetent, stale, flat and unprofitable, superfluous, dispensable, thrown away, abortive, worthless, valueless, priceless, unsalable, not worth a straw, dear at any price, vain, empty, inane, gainless, profitless, fruitless, unserviceable, unprofitable, ill-spent, unproductive, hors de combat, effete, past work, obsolete, fit for the dust hole, good for nothing, of no earthly use, not worth having, not worth powder and shot, leading to no end, uncalled for, unnecessary, unneeded, uselessly, to little purpose, to no purpose, to little or no purpose, Int, cui bono?, what's the good!, actum ne agas, chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin, tanto buon che val niente.

Indifference

N indifference, neutrality, coldness, anaphrodisia, unconcern, insouciance, nonchalance, want of interest, want of earnestness, anorexy, anorexia, inappetency, apathy, supineness, disdain, recklessness, inattention, anaphrodisiac, antaphrodisiac, lust-quencher, passion-queller, indifferent, cold, frigid, lukewarm, cool, cool as a cucumber, unconcerned, insouciant, phlegmatic, pococurante, easygoing, devil-may- care, careless, listless, lackadaisical, half-hearted, unambitious, unaspiring, undesirous, unsolicitous, unattracted, aloof, unapproachable, remote, uncaring, unattractive, unalluring, undesired, undesirable, uncared for, unwished, unvalued, all one to, insipid, vain, for aught one cares, Int, never mind, Who cares? whatever you like, whatever, I couldn't care less, I could care less, anything will do, es macht nichts.

Vanity

N vanity, conceit, conceitedness, self-conceit, self- complacency, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-esteem, self-love, self-approbation, self-praise, self-glorification, self-laudation, self-gratulation, self-applause, self-admiration, amour propre, selfishness, airs, affected manner, pretensions, mannerism, egotism, priggism, priggishness, coxcombry, gaudery, vainglory, elation, pride, ostentation, assurance, vox et praeterea nihil, cheval de bataille, coxcomb, Sir Oracle, vain, vain as a peacock, proud as a peacock, conceited, overweening, pert, forward, vainglorious, high-flown, ostentatious, puffed up, inflated, flushed, self-satisfied, self-confident, self-sufficient, self-flattering, self-admiring, self-applauding, self-glorious, self-opinionated, entente, wise in one's own conceit, pragmatical, overwise, pretentious, priggish, egotistic, egotistical, soi-disant, arrogant, unabashed, unblushing, unconstrained, unceremonious, free and easy, vainly, how we apples swim!, prouder than rustling in unpaid-for silk.