vain

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. proud, conceited; futile, fruitless; trivial. See vanity, uselessness, unimportance.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Possessing unwarranted self-esteem]

Syn. proud, arrogant, haughty; see egotistic 2 .

2. [Trivial]

Syn. trivial, unimportant, frivolous, petty, insignificant, idle, empty, hollow, otiose; see also trivial , unimportant .

• in vain,

3.

Syn. futilely, unprofitably, to no purpose; see vainly .

4.

Syn. profanely, irreverently, lightly; see casually 2 , rudely .

5. [Useless]

Syn. worthless, unavailing, profitless; see futile 1 , useless 1 .

See Synonym Study at futile . Syn.- vain applies to that which has little or no real value, worth, or meaning [vain studies, indulging in vain pleasures ] ; idle refers to that which is baseless or worthless because it can never be realized [idle hopes, idle talk ] ; empty and hollow are used of that which only appears to be genuine, sincere, worthwhile, etc. [empty threats, hollow victories ] ; otiose applies to that which has no real purpose or function and is therefore useless or superfluous [otiose remarks ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

1. worthless of no use, useless, empty, hollow, futile, unproductive, fruitless, pointless, unsuccessful, unavailing, idle.

2. conceited proud, vainglorious, *full of oneself, egotistical, self-important, arrogant, pompous, self-admiring, primping, preening, haughty, dandyish, foppish, swaggering, strutting, *in love with oneself.

ANT.: 1. productive, effective, worthwhile. 2. modest, humble, self-effacing

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. Having no useful result: barren, bootless, fruitless, futile, unavailing, unprofitable, unsuccessful, useless. Idiom: in vain. See THRIVE, USED. 2. Lacking value, use, or substance: empty, hollow, idle, otiose, vacant. See FULL. 3. Unduly preoccupied with one's own appearance: conceited, narcissistic. See SELF-LOVE. 4. Thinking too highly of oneself: conceited, egoistic, egoistical, egotistic, egotistical, narcissistic, vainglorious. Informal: bigheaded, stuck-up, swellheaded. See SELF-LOVE.