in vain
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Van Veen's hard work looked to be in vain as he missed five match darts, but Humphries was equally wasteful and fell to a fourth consecutive loss to the Dutchman.
From BBC
"Unless lessons are learned, and fundamental change is implemented in Northern Ireland, the human and financial cost and sacrifice of the Covid-19 pandemic will have been in vain."
From BBC
"It isn't really about giving the patients back what they lost, because that's not possible, but sort of almost making sure their suffering wasn't in vain, that we do learn from this," she says.
From BBC
Strong cases languished in bureaucratic limbo while families of applicants pleaded in vain.
From Salon
For the next three years of his administration, the Democratic president and his aides pointed to economic indicators and data in vain, as the public's mood remained dark.
From BBC
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.
