1
as in smug
having too high an opinion of oneself
a man so vain that he spent hours admiring himself in the mirror
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in futile
producing no results
all their efforts to escape proved vain
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in worthless
having no usefulness
having tired of the vain pleasures of life in the fast lane, he returned to the small town he had grown up in
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vain
This doesn’t mean these women are vain or superficial.
—
Rebecca Lester, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2025
There have been pure hammerings inflicted by a magisterial opponent, there have been vain attempts to keep the score down, there have been have-a-go failures and defensive mishaps.
—George Caulkin, The Athletic, 15 Feb. 2025
The heavy nature of this defeat will end any title talk, but the reality check handed out by Atalanta must not be in vain.
—Adam Digby, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
Knight’s family has spent thousands of dollars over the past decade and hired multiple attorneys trying to get his sentence reduced, but all in vain.
—Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vain
Rebecca Lester, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2025
There have been pure hammerings inflicted by a magisterial opponent, there have been vain attempts to keep the score down, there have been have-a-go failures and defensive mishaps.
—George Caulkin, The Athletic, 15 Feb. 2025
The heavy nature of this defeat will end any title talk, but the reality check handed out by Atalanta must not be in vain.
—Adam Digby, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2025
Knight’s family has spent thousands of dollars over the past decade and hired multiple attorneys trying to get his sentence reduced, but all in vain.
—Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vain
Adjective
-
But my in-laws seemed not to catch this smug look of his, and when my mother-in-law excused herself to go to the bathroom, my father-in-law took the opportunity to go over to his desk and take out one of his special blue envelopes.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
2 Apr. 2025
-
But those smug computers obviously haven’t seen a shirtless Illini coach Brad Underwood and his Super Soaker squirt gun.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Impeachment of judges, however, is widely seen as a futile endeavor on Capitol Hill.—
Tara Suter,
The Hill,
3 Apr. 2025
-
The confrontation ends in an electric if futile horse chase.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
What this means isn’t that this music is cheap or worthless.—
Mikal Gilmore,
Rolling Stone,
30 Mar. 2025
-
So restricted in scope as to be nearly worthless and thus is rarely utilized.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
If Holzhauer’s proud of his service and believe he’s earned the property tax exemption, then own it.—
Naperville Sun,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Jaylon is a proud alumnus of the University of Georgia.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
June became hopeful that the American rescue mission would lead to a reunion with her daughter, but that was unsuccessful.—
Abigail Lee,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2025
-
Last year, Harry’s legal action against the Home Office was unsuccessful and the court initially refused him permission to appeal.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But the schedule is also noticeably empty toward the backend of the trip.—
Andrew Carey,
CNN Money,
2 Apr. 2025
-
But Smith is quick to point out that the facility won’t just sit empty between private driving days.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In a world where deal flow is crucial, being labeled as an arrogant VC results in missing out on prime opportunities.—
David Nour,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
-
The arrogant anti-union stance did not start with the current CEO; even the legendary Studs Terkel was slapped down by WFMT management for his earlier support of an effort to unionize in 1990.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
For most of us, our inbox goals are the same: minimize useless spam, file away messages that don’t require your attention right away, and bring urgent items to the forefront.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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His devastating splitter would be useless without first establishing everything else in the strike zone.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vain. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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