| 单词 | in vain |
| 释义 | in vain (once / 145 pages) adv If you do something in vain, you do it with no result, or to no effect. Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address to make it clear that Union soldiers did not die in vain. If an effort is futile, it's in vain. You might spend time and money campaigning to be school president, handing out bumper stickers and homemade cupcakes, all in vain — despite your hard work, you don't win the election. When you wait in vain for the phone to ring, it never does. In vain is modeled after the Latin in vanum, and it keeps the original sense of the word vain, "unprofitable" or "devoid of value." WORD FAMILYin vain USAGE EXAMPLESLuckily, all those terrible holidays weren’t in vain, at least some saw the lighter side: The Guardian(Dec 30, 2016) For decades, she tried in vain to enlist others in her preservation efforts. Los Angeles Times(Dec 29, 2016) There his friends waited anxiously and in vain for him to return. The Guardian(Dec 29, 2016) adv to no avail he looked for her in vain Syn vainly |
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