vain

B1 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

Also spelled wain

US /ven/ UK /veɪn/ See IPA manual

Homophones

vein /ven/

adj verb noun Freq #5027

Meanings

1

adj
Too proud of your own appearance, abilities, or achievements.

He is so vain that he checks his reflection in every window.
2

adj
Not producing the result you want; useless.

They made a vain attempt to save the sinking boat.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · too proud of your own... conceited arrogantbig-headed

2 adj · not producing the result... futile fruitless pointless

More narcissisticself-admiringself-adoringself-obsessedvainglorious

Opposites

modestnonnarcissistic

Word family

Forms vainervainest

Derived forms vainlyvainness

Related forms arrogance beauty one-dimensional shallow superficial vanity

Etymology

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.

Topics

Emotions & Feelings

# vain

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj, verb, noun
**IPA (US):** ven
**IPA (UK):** veɪn
**Frequency rank:** 5027

## Meanings
1. Too proud of your own appearance, abilities, or achievements.
2. Not producing the result you want; useless.

## Examples
- He is so vain that he checks his reflection in every window.
- They made a vain attempt to save the sinking boat.

## Synonyms
- conceited
- narcissistic
- self-admiring
- self-adoring
- self-obsessed
- vainglorious

## Antonyms
- modest
- nonnarcissistic

## Derived Forms
- vainly
- vainness

## Related Forms
- arrogance
- beauty
- one-dimensional
- shallow
- superficial
- vanity

## Etymology
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.

## AI Etymology
Vain is 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. In present-day use, it can mean too proud of your own appearance, abilities, or achievements, or not producing the result you want; useless. Derived formations include vainly, vainness.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings

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vain

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