Meaning

1 senses

  1. (dated, obsolete, rare)To frustrate.

Examples

288 sentences

  1. All our efforts were in vain.

    Усі наші зусилля були марні. — deniko

    ruНаши хлопоты были напрасны. — Maksimo

    deUnsere Bemühungen waren vergeblich. — cost

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. All their efforts were in vain.

    Всі їхні зусилля були марні. — deniko

    ruВсе их усилия были тщетными. — nami

    deAlle ihre Bemühungen waren vergebens. — Dejo

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. I tried in vain to open it.

    Я марно намагався відкрити його. — deniko

    ruЯ тщетно пытался открыть его. — sharptoothed

    deIch habe vergeblich versucht, es aufzumachen. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  4. We protested, but it was in vain.

    Ми протестували, але безрезультатно. — deniko

    ruМы протестовали, но безрезультатно. — odexed

    deWir protestierten, aber es war vergebens. — Dani6187

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  5. Tom is vain.

    Том марнославний. — deniko

    ruТом тщеславен. — sharptoothed

    deTom ist eitel. — Pfirsichbaeumchen

    CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Origin

A conversion of the adjectival form of vain. The only use of this verb in English appears

A conversion of the adjectival form of vain. The only use of this verb in English appears c. 1628 in the writings of Owen Felltham.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

vains, vaining, vained, vained
Base formvain · to vain
3rd person singularvains
Present participlevaining
Past simplevained
Past participlevained

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theyvain
he, she, itvains

Past simpleLesson

all personsvained

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave vained
he, she, ithas vained

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill vain

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

Collocations

3 patterns
  • tried in vain
  • were in vain
  • in vain to

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
vagueB1vaguelyvaguenessvainlyvalvale

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

vain — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto