From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishvainvain /veɪn/ ●○○ adjective 1 PROUDsomeone who is vain is too proud of their good looks, abilities, or position – used to show disapproval SYN conceited Men can be just as vain as women.► see thesaurus at proud2 → in vain3 FAILa vain attempt, hope, or search fails to achieve the result you wantedvain attempt/effort/bid The young mother died in a vain attempt to save her drowning son.4 → vain threat/promise etc —vainly adverb The instructor struggled vainly to open his parachute.COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 3: a vain attempt, hope, or search fails to achieve the result you wantednounsa vain attempt/bid/effortPeople close their windows at night in a vain attempt to shut out the sound of gunfire.a vain hopeYoung men moved south in the vain hope of finding work.a vain searchMothers have been to every shop in town in a vain search for the toy.
Examples from the Corpus
vain• So look at your friends, see what they are a little vain about and then multiply by a factor of ten.• I remembered all my vain attempts to change his mind.• He stretched up his arms in a vain effort to reach the top of the embankment.• I am vain enough to want to look good, but not to style my hair and paint my toenails.• Pollsters have searched in vain for pockets of disloyalty.• The vain girl did a little dance in them, but when she tried to stop, the shoes kept on dancing.• She's a vain girl who is always thinking about her figure.• They are so vain in bed, much more vain than women.• Later, it tried in vain to conquer the whole of the subcontinent.in a vain attempt• Curling his toes in a vain attempt to frustrate the inhospitable lino, Mungo watched, fascinated.• The protesters flung handfuls of earth into the trenches in a vain attempt to lift the siege of the West Bank town.• Atmel is spending $ 400 million this year in a vain attempt to meet demand.• Fifi was back at the bars and stretching out her hand in a vain attempt to reach the steel tray.• Once, I dived full-length across the court in a vain attempt to retrieve the ball.• People close their windows at night in a vain attempt to shut out the sound of sirens and gunfire.Origin vain (1300-1400) Old French Latin vanus “empty, vain” 