vain
Americanadjective
-
excessively proud of or concerned about one's own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited.
a vain dandy.
- Synonyms:
- overweening, arrogant, proud, vainglorious, self-complacent, egotistic
- Antonyms:
- humble
-
proceeding from or showing pride in or concern about one's appearance, qualities, etc.; resulting from or displaying vanity.
He made some vain remarks about his accomplishments.
-
ineffectual or unsuccessful; futile.
vain hopes;
a vain effort;
a vain war.
- Synonyms:
- unavailing, fruitless
- Antonyms:
- useful
-
without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless.
vain pageantry;
vain display.
-
Archaic. senseless or foolish.
idioms
adjective
-
inordinately proud of one's appearance, possessions, or achievements
-
given to ostentatious display, esp of one's beauty
-
worthless
-
senseless or futile
noun
-
to no avail; fruitlessly
-
-
to use the name of someone, esp God, without due respect or reverence
-
humorous to mention someone's name
-
Synonym Usage
See useless.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of vain
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin vānus “empty, vain”
Explanation
If you spend all day admiring yourself in reflective surfaces — mirrors, pools of water, the backs of spoons — people may think you are conceited, or vain. Vain is from Latin vanus, "empty," and in English it originally meant "lacking value or effect, futile," like your vain attempt to find a pencil in your messy, overstuffed backpack. Likewise, the phrase "in vain" means "without success." Vain also means "conceited, too proud of oneself." Carly Simon's line "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you" is an excellent illustration of this use.
Vocabulary lists containing vain
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It all looked to be in vain as they slumped to 82-8 in the 15th over of their chase of 162 to beat Yorkshire at Headingley in Wednesday's quarter-final.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Filipino fans formed unmoving lines, hoping in vain to squeeze into the ludicrously limited capacity of Court 6 just to catch a glimpse of her main draw debut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Speaking of trillion-dollar leprechauns, you will hunt through all 545 pages in vain for those big “DOGE” savings you were promised.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
"When I'm working, I tell myself that those souls did not die in vain."
From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026
The group charged that Charles was conceited and vain, having an opinion of himself that exceeded reality.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
But are vainer men than me really cultivating their monobrows?
From The Guardian ● May 3, 2017
You might even be vainer for some people might by the label in the belief that is better quality and thus a better value.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2016
For clients who are vainer about their hearing than their eyesight, Otarion, Inc., Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., has designed a hearing aid housed in standard, horn-rimmed glasses.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ulape had two boxes of earrings, for she was vainer than I, and when she put them into her baskets, she drew a thin mark with blue clay across her nose and cheekbones.
From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell
And it were vainer to argue with a hound on a runway, or with the west wind in October, than with me.
From Cardigan by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
This vainest of Falstaffs is a genuine slob whom Boritt houses in a shabby bachelor pad wallpapered in purple zebra stripes.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 15, 2021
For years D.C. had the vainest of owners, but he was balanced by Bobby Beathard and Joe Gibbs, two deft managers of ego — both theirs and others.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 13, 2013
In 1622 history's richest and most lavish painter was retained by the vainest and most powerful woman in France to create an appropriate tribute to herself.
From Time Magazine Archive
Unexpectedly, he discovers in Sondra Finchley, beautiful heiress, a sweetheart who will fulfill his dearest, vainest dreams.
From Time Magazine Archive
The vainest, most slap-happy and irreverent of men, in the presence of redwoods, goes under a spell of wonder and respect.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
