Complete Definition of "vain"

English

Etymology
From ME. vain < Old French vain < Latin vanus|v�nus, "empty"

Pronunciation
IPA|/veɪn/
AHD|/v�n/
audio|en-us-vain.ogg|Audio (US)
Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-eɪn|-eɪn

Adjective
en-adj|er|more

  1. overly proud of oneself, especially when concerning appearance

#* Leo Rosten:
#*:Every writer is a narcissist. This does not mean that he is vain; it only means that he is hopelessly self-absorbed.

  1. having very little substance
  2. pointless, futile

#* William of Occam:
#*:It is vain to do with more what can be done with fewer.

Translations
trans-top|overly proud of one's appearance
Dutch: ijdel
Finnish: turhamainen
trans-mid
Scottish Gaelic: mòr à(s), sgòideasach, sgòideil, uaibhreach, uailleach
trans-bottom

trans-top|based on very little substance
trans-mid
Scottish Gaelic: faoin
trans-bottom

trans-top|pointless, futile
Finnish: turha, tyhjä
trans-mid
Scottish Gaelic: faoin
trans-bottom

Homophones
vane
vein

Related terms
in vain
vainness
vainly
vanity
shallow

Category:English homophones


Finnish

Adverb
vain

  1. only, merely, exclusively, solely, just

Category:Finnish adverbs


French

Adjective
vain

  1. useless, ineffective

Synonyms
inutile

Related terms
vanité
vaniteux

Category:French adjectives

zh-min-nan:vain
de:vain
fr:vain
io:vain
id:vain
it:vain
hu:vain
fi:vain
sv:vain
ta:vain
te:vain
vi:vain
zh:vain

Revision and Credits for"vain"
Dictionary content provided from Wiktionary.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License
 
 

 Find:
  Words Starting With:
  Words Ending With:
  Words Containing:
  Words That Match:

 
 Translate Into:
  
Dutch   French   German
  
Italian   Spanish
    Show results per page.

Browse the Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

   
Allwords Copyright 1998-2024 All rights reserved.