壹、詳盡釋義
adj.(形容詞)自負的，自視過高的，自高自大的徒然的，徒勞的，無結果的，枉然的無益的愛虛榮的炫耀的空虛的無意義的，無價值的無效的，沒效果的愚蠢的n.(名詞)未用空間二、雙解釋義
adj.(形容詞)自負的; 愛慕虛榮的 thinking too highly of one's appearance, abilities, etc.; conceited徒勞的,無用的,無效的 useless or futile三、詞典解釋
1.徒勞的;無效的;不成功的
Avain attempt or action is one that fails to achieve what was intended.
vain什麽意思
e.g. The drafting committee worked through the night in avain attempt to finish on schedule...
起草委員會為按計劃完成草案已通宵加班，但結果仍是徒勞。
e.g. I was singing in avain effort to cheer him up.
我唱歌試圖讓他高興起來，結果是白費力氣。
vainly
He hunted vainly through his pockets for a piece of paper.
他翻遍口袋想找壹張紙，結果沒找到。2.徒然的;無望的
If you describe a hope that something will happen as avain hope, you mean that there is no chance of it happening.
e.g. He married his fourth wife, Susan, in thevain hope that she would improve his health.
他娶了第四個老婆蘇珊，徒然希望她能使他健康狀況好轉。
vainly
He then set out for Virginia for what he vainly hoped would be a peaceful retirement.
於是他動身前往弗吉尼亞，幻想能夠平靜引退。3.自負的;虛榮的;自命不凡的
If you describe someone asvain, you are critical of their extreme pride in their own beauty, intelligence, or other good qualities.
e.g. I think he is shallow,vain and untrustworthy.
我認為他淺薄虛榮，不可信任。
4.徒勞;白費力氣
If you do somethingin vain, you do not succeed in achieving what you intend.
e.g. He stopped at the door, waiting invain for her to acknowledge his presence...
他在門口停住，徒然地等待她和自己打招呼。
e.g. It became obvious that all her complaints were invain.
很明顯她所有的抱怨都是白費口舌。
5.無用的;無意義的;無價值的
If you say that something such as someone's death, suffering, or effort wasin vain, you mean that it was useless because it did not achieve anything.
e.g. He wants the world to know his son did not die invain.
他想讓全世界都知道，他的兒子不是白白死去的。
四、例句
She is vain and foolish, and yet people like her.
她自負而愚蠢，然而人們喜歡她。
She is vain of her voice.
她自以為她的聲音了不起。
They endeavoured to make her happy but in vain.
他們盡量使她快樂，卻徒勞無功。
All his father's exhortations were in vain.
他父親的壹切勸告都無效。
We tried in vain to make him change his mind.
我們想使他改變主意，結果是白費心機。
The world had made him extravagant and vain.
世俗使他變得放蕩不羈，虛榮自負。
She is so vain that she can't pass a mirror without looking into it.
她好愛虛榮,每經過壹面鏡子都要照壹下。
五、常見句型
用作形容詞(adj.)用作定語～+ n.She is one of those vain people who never take others' advice.
她屬於那種自負得從不聽別人勸告的人。I don't like a vain woman.
我討厭愛慕虛榮的女人。He made a vain attempt to reach the drowning child.
他試圖接近那個快淹死的小孩,但沒有成功。用作表語S+be+～All my efforts were vain.
我的壹切努力都白費了。S+be+～+ prep .-phraseHe's very vain of his abilities.
他對於自己的能力很自負。It is/was+～+to- vIt is vain to resist.
抵抗是沒用的。用作賓語補足語S+V+O+～Too much praise can make a man vain.
過度的贊揚會使人自負。六、經典引文
All literature, art, and science are vain..if they do not enable you to be glad.
出自：J. RuskinIt is..vain to try to be other than we are.
出自：D. M. FrameThe vain attempts of feminist critics to prove there is a..'women's language'.
出自：New York Review of Books七、詞源解說
☆ 直接源自古法語的vain，意為沒有價值的；最初源自拉丁語的vanus，意為空著的。vain的相關近義詞
useless、void
vain的相關反義詞
beneficial、effective、useful
vain的相關臨近詞
val、vail、Vaino、Vaini、Vaina、Vaine、Vainio、Vainar、vainly、Vaindl、Vainkop、Vainsot