vain

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled wain

US /ven/ UK /veɪn/ See IPA manual

Homophones

vein /ven/

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

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

A word of kindness is seldom spoken in vain

Simplified etymology

Vain entered English around 1300 from Latin vanus, “empty” or “without substance,” and initially meant “worthless” or “lacking real worth.” By late Middle English it could also describe someone excessively proud of their appearance.

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

Describing Qualities

External links

# vain

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**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
- Describing Qualities

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