Dictionary › V › vain
vain
1 syllableYour browser doesn’t have built-in voices. Try Chrome, Edge or Safari.
As an adjective, vain means overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance.
Meanings of vain
6 meaningsadjective
Overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason.
Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying.
Effecting no purpose; pointless, futile.
“vain toil    a vain attempt”
Showy; ostentatious.
Characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
“a conceited fool”
“an attitude of self-conceited arrogance”
“an egotistical disregard of others”
Similar: conceited, egotistic, egotistical, self-conceited, swollen, swollen-headedUnproductive of success
“a fruitless search”
“futile years after her artistic peak”
“a sleeveless errand”
Similar: bootless, fruitless, futile, sleeveless
Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).