Vain

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Vain \Vain\ (v[=a]n), a. [Compar. {Vainer}; superl. {Vainest}.]
     [F. vain, L. vanus empty, void, vain. Cf. {Vanish}, {Vanity},
     {Vaunt} to boast.]
     1. Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty;
        void; worthless; unsatisfying. "Thy vain excuse." --Shak.
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              Every man walketh in a vain show.     --Ps. xxxix.
                                                    6.
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              Let no man deceive you with vain words. --Eph. v. 6.
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              Vain pomp, and glory of this world, I hate ye!
                                                    --Shak.
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              Vain wisdom all, and false philosophy. --Milton.
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     2. Destitute of force or efficacy; effecting no purpose;
        fruitless; ineffectual; as, vain toil; a vain attempt.
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              Bring no more vain oblations.         --Isa. i. 13.
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              Vain is the force of man
              To crush the pillars which the pile sustain.
                                                    --Dryden.
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     3. Proud of petty things, or of trifling attainments; having
        a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight
        reason; conceited; puffed up; inflated.
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              But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart
              from works is barren?                 --James ii. 20
                                                    (Rev. Ver.).
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              The minstrels played on every side,
              Vain of their art.                    --Dryden.
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     4. Showy; ostentatious.
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              Load some vain church with old theatric state.
                                                    --Pope.
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     Syn: Empty; worthless; fruitless; ineffectual; idle; unreal;
          shadowy; showy; ostentatious; light; inconstant;
          deceitful; delusive; unimportant; trifling.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Vain \Vain\, n.
     Vanity; emptiness; -- now used only in the phrase
  
     {in vain}.
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     {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.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  vain
       adj 1: characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense
              of self-importance; "a conceited fool"; "an attitude
              of self-conceited arrogance"; "an egotistical
              disregard of others"; "so swollen by victory that he
              was unfit for normal duty"; "growing ever more
              swollen-headed and arbitrary"; "vain about her
              clothes" [syn: {conceited}, {egotistic}, {egotistical},
               {self-conceited}, {swollen}, {swollen-headed}]
       2: unproductive of success; "a fruitless search"; "futile years
          after her artistic peak"; "a sleeveless errand"; "a vain
          attempt" [syn: {bootless}, {fruitless}, {futile}, {sleeveless}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  147 Moby Thesaurus words for "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