vain /veɪn/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin vanus 'empty, vain' ]
1 . someone who is vain is too proud of their good looks, abilities, or position – used to show disapproval SYN conceited :
Men can be just as vain as women.
2 . in vain
a) without success in spite of your efforts:
Police searched in vain for the missing gunman.
b) without purpose or without positive results:
Altman swore that his son’s death would not be in vain.
⇨ take sb’s name in vain at ↑ name 1 (12)
3 . a vain attempt, hope, or search fails to achieve the result you wanted
vain attempt/effort/bid
The young mother died in a vain attempt to save her drowning son.
4 . vain threat/promise etc literary a threat, promise etc that is not worrying because the person cannot do what they say they will
—vainly adverb :
The instructor struggled vainly to open his parachute.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
■ nouns
▪ a vain attempt/bid/effort
People close their windows at night in a vain attempt to shut out the sound of gunfire.
▪ a vain hope
Young men moved south in the vain hope of finding work.
▪ a vain search
Mothers have been to every shop in town in a vain search for the toy.
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THESAURUS
▪ proud very pleased with what you, your family, or your country have achieved, or of something you own:
I felt so proud when my son graduated from college.
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Judith’s very proud of her new Ferrari.
▪ pleased with yourself feeling pleased because something good has happened, especially because you think you have been very clever, skilful etc:
He was smoking a big cigar and was obviously pleased with himself.
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I’d made a big profit and was feeling pretty pleased with myself.
▪ arrogant disapproving behaving in an unpleasant and annoying way, because you think you are better or know more than other people, and that your opinions are always right:
He was arrogant and regarded people who disagreed with him as fools.
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his arrogant attitude to women
▪ vain disapproving too proud of your appearance, in a way that annoys other people:
He’s so vain – he thinks all the girls fancy him.
▪ conceited/big-headed disapproving proud of yourself because you think you are very intelligent, skilful, beautiful etc, especially without good reason and in a way that annoys people:
Stewart’s the most arrogant conceited person I’ve ever known.
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She was offered a brilliant job and became incredibly big-headed overnight.
▪ pompous disapproving thinking that you are much more important than you really are, and using very long and formal words to try to sound important:
The clerk was a pompous little man with glasses.
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a pompous speech
▪ smug disapproving pleased with yourself in a quiet but annoying way because you think you are in a better position than other people:
Milly was looking very smug about coming top of the class.
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a smug expression
▪ self-satisfied disapproving pleased with what you have achieved and showing it clearly in an annoying way:
She glared angrily into his self-satisfied face.
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a self-satisfied grin