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Showing results for in vain. Search instead for In+vain.
Synonyms

in vain

Idioms  

  1. To no avail, useless, as in All our work was in vain. [c. 1300] Also see take someone's name in vain.

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.

“To know that it may all have been in vain is heartbreaking,” Mbara said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

At the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, the staff tried in vain to save the program.

From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026

The Pentagon has since tried in vain to demote his military rank and a grand jury have declined to charge him with seditious conspiracy.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

She added that it was "very hard to sleep or eat. But we’re hanging in there," driven by hope that "the sacrifice of Iranians" will not be in vain.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

All the same, Farid listened in vain that night, the longest night of his life.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

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.