英语词汇“vain”的英英意思、用法、释义、翻译、读音、例句、短语、词组-英语词典

vain

/veɪn

adjective

1Having or showing an excessively high opinion of one’s appearance, abilities, or worth: their flattery made him vain a vain woman with a streak of snobbery...

A man should be clean and confident in his appearance, but not vain or pretentious.
This archbishop has, in my opinion, been a vain and self-aggrandising man throughout.
She was the most arrogant, vain, self centred person I'd ever met.

Synonyms

conceited, narcissistic, self-loving, in love with oneself, self-admiring, self-regarding, wrapped up in oneself, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, self-centred, egotistic, egotistical, egoistic, egocentric, egomaniac;

proud, haughty, arrogant, boastful, swaggering, imperious, overweening, cocky, affected

literary vainglorious

rare peacockish

(be vain) have an excessively high opinion of oneself, think too highly of oneself, think a lot of oneself

informal think one is the cat's whiskers/pyjamas, think one is God's gift (to women)

2 [attributive] Producing no result; useless: a vain attempt to tidy up the room the vain hope of finding work...

He was yelling and crying, reaching out desperately and uselessly past the restraining arms in a vain attempt to bring his friend back.
There is irritating piped music, a vain attempt to drown out the background wind-pocket moan of the ventilation/heating system and generate some atmosphere perhaps.
We took to channel hopping in the vain hope that something remotely interesting would catch our attention.

2.1Having no likelihood of fulfilment; empty: a vain boast...

It's not a vain boast on the evidence of this season.
This turn of events, this sad return after so many vain boasts, would have made a shamed recluse out of a normal human being.
By and large I'm all for the right to speak your mind and give your opinion as long as it's of worth and not just some vain criticism thrown out for the sake of it.

Phrases

in vain

take someone's name in vain

Derivatives

vainness

/ˈveɪnnɪs/ noun ...

He thinks he was born for women, though I must say his vainness is highly amusing.
The fact that people have come to realize the vainness of hoping for assistance from ‘benevolent’ rulers gives some grounds for optimism.
I hate ingratitude more in a man than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness, or any taint of vice whose strong corruption inhabits our frail blood.

Origin

Middle English (in the sense 'devoid of real worth'): via Old French from Latin vanus 'empty, without substance'.

vanity from Middle English:
In early use vanity meant ‘futility, worthlessness’, with the idea of being conceited recorded a century later. This is the quality condemned in ‘Vanity of vanities; all is vanity’ from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. The source of the word is Latin vanus ‘empty, without substance’, also the source of vain (Middle English) and vanish (Middle English). In The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, published in 1678, Vanity Fair is held in the town of Vanity, through which pilgrims pass on their way to the Eternal City. All kinds of ‘vanity’, things of no real value, were on sale at the fair. The 19th century took the name Vanity Fair to represent the world as a place of frivolity and idle amusement, most notably in Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair (1847–48). Vanity Fair has been the title of four magazines since the 1850s, in particular the current US one founded in 1914. From its earliest appearance in around 1300 vain has meant ‘lacking real worth, worthless’. To take someone's name in vain, ‘to use someone's name in a way that shows disrespect’, echoes the third of the biblical Ten Commandments: ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.’ Since the late 17th century vain has also described someone who has a high opinion of their own appearance.

单词	vain
释义	vain /veɪn / adjective 1Having or showing an excessively high opinion of one’s appearance, abilities, or worth: their flattery made him vain a vain woman with a streak of snobbery... A man should be clean and confident in his appearance, but not vain or pretentious. This archbishop has, in my opinion, been a vain and self-aggrandising man throughout. She was the most arrogant, vain, self centred person I'd ever met. Synonyms conceited, narcissistic, self-loving, in love with oneself, self-admiring, self-regarding, wrapped up in oneself, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, self-centred, egotistic, egotistical, egoistic, egocentric, egomaniac; proud, haughty, arrogant, boastful, swaggering, imperious, overweening, cocky, affected literary vainglorious rare peacockish (be vain) have an excessively high opinion of oneself, think too highly of oneself, think a lot of oneself informal think one is the cat's whiskers/pyjamas, think one is God's gift (to women) 2 [attributive] Producing no result; useless: a vain attempt to tidy up the room the vain hope of finding work... He was yelling and crying, reaching out desperately and uselessly past the restraining arms in a vain attempt to bring his friend back. There is irritating piped music, a vain attempt to drown out the background wind-pocket moan of the ventilation/heating system and generate some atmosphere perhaps. We took to channel hopping in the vain hope that something remotely interesting would catch our attention. 2.1Having no likelihood of fulfilment; empty: a vain boast... It's not a vain boast on the evidence of this season. This turn of events, this sad return after so many vain boasts, would have made a shamed recluse out of a normal human being. By and large I'm all for the right to speak your mind and give your opinion as long as it's of worth and not just some vain criticism thrown out for the sake of it. Phrases in vain take someone's name in vain Derivatives vainness /ˈveɪnnɪs/ noun ... He thinks he was born for women, though I must say his vainness is highly amusing. The fact that people have come to realize the vainness of hoping for assistance from ‘benevolent’ rulers gives some grounds for optimism. I hate ingratitude more in a man than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness, or any taint of vice whose strong corruption inhabits our frail blood. Origin Middle English (in the sense 'devoid of real worth'): via Old French from Latin vanus 'empty, without substance'. vanity from Middle English: In early use vanity meant ‘futility, worthlessness’, with the idea of being conceited recorded a century later. This is the quality condemned in ‘Vanity of vanities; all is vanity’ from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. The source of the word is Latin vanus ‘empty, without substance’, also the source of vain (Middle English) and vanish (Middle English). In The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, published in 1678, Vanity Fair is held in the town of Vanity, through which pilgrims pass on their way to the Eternal City. All kinds of ‘vanity’, things of no real value, were on sale at the fair. The 19th century took the name Vanity Fair to represent the world as a place of frivolity and idle amusement, most notably in Thackeray's novel Vanity Fair (1847–48). Vanity Fair has been the title of four magazines since the 1850s, in particular the current US one founded in 1914. From its earliest appearance in around 1300 vain has meant ‘lacking real worth, worthless’. To take someone's name in vain, ‘to use someone's name in a way that shows disrespect’, echoes the third of the biblical Ten Commandments: ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.’ Since the late 17th century vain has also described someone who has a high opinion of their own appearance. Rhymes abstain, appertain, arcane, arraign, ascertain, attain, Bahrain, bane, blain, brain, Braine, Cain, Caine, campaign, cane, cinquain, chain, champagne, champaign, Champlain, Charmaine, chicane, chow mein, cocaine, Coleraine, Coltrane, complain, constrain, contain, crane, Dane, deign, demesne, demi-mondaine, detain, disdain, domain, domaine, drain, Duane, Dwane, Elaine, entertain, entrain, explain, fain, fane, feign, gain, Germaine, germane, grain, humane, Hussein, inane, Jain, Jane, Jermaine, Kane, La Fontaine, lain, lane, legerdemain, Lorraine, main, Maine, maintain, mane, mise en scène, Montaigne, moraine, mundane, obtain, ordain, Paine, pane, pertain, plain, plane, Port-of-Spain, profane, rain, Raine, refrain, reign, rein, retain, romaine, sane, Seine, Shane, Sinn Fein, skein, slain, Spain, Spillane, sprain, stain, strain, sustain, swain, terrain, thane, train, twain, Ujjain, Ukraine, underlain, urbane, vane, vein, Verlaine, vicereine, wain, wane, Wayne
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vain

Phrases

Derivatives

vainness

Origin

Rhymes