adj.
徒劳的；枉然的；无结果的
that does not produce the result you want
She closed her eyes tightly in a vain attempt to hold back the tears.
她紧闭双眼，却无法忍住眼泪。
I knocked loudly in the vain hope that someone might answer.
我敲门敲得很响，希望有人应声，却是徒然。
自负的；自视过高的
too proud of your own appearance, abilities or achievements
She's too vain to wear glasses.
她太爱虚荣，不肯戴眼镜。
without success
他们极力劝说她去，但枉费了一番口舌。
They tried in vain to persuade her to go.
All our efforts were in vain.
我们的所有努力都付诸东流了。
to show a lack of respect when using sb's name
你又在滥用我的名义吧？
Have you been taking my name in vain again?
vain
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1
ADJ 徒劳的;无效的;不成功的
A vain attempt or action is one that fails to achieve what was intended.The drafting committee worked through the night in a vain attempt to finish on schedule...
起草委员会为按计划完成草案已通宵加班，但结果仍是徒劳。
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He hunted vainly through his pockets for a piece of paper.
他翻遍口袋想找一张纸，结果没找到。
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3
ADJ 徒然的;无望的
If you describe a hope that something will happen as a vain hope, you mean that there is no chance of it happening.He married his fourth wife, Susan, in the vain hope that she would improve his health.
他娶了第四个老婆苏珊，徒然希望她能使他健康状况好转。
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He then set out for Virginia for what he vainly hoped would be a peaceful retirement.
于是他动身前往弗吉尼亚，幻想能够平静引退。
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5
ADJ-GRADED 自负的;虚荣的;自命不凡的
If you describe someone as vain, you are critical of their extreme pride in their own beauty, intelligence, or other good qualities.I think he is shallow, vain and untrustworthy.
我认为他浅薄虚荣，不可信任。
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6
PHRASE 徒劳;白费力气
If you do something in vain, you do not succeed in achieving what you intend.He stopped at the door, waiting in vain for her to acknowledge his presence...
他在门口停住，徒然地等待她和自己打招呼。
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7
PHRASE 无用的;无意义的;无价值的
If you say that something such as someone's death, suffering, or effort was in vain, you mean that it was useless because it did not achieve anything.He wants the world to know his son did not die in vain.
他想让全世界都知道，他的儿子不是白白死去的。
adj
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1
- unproductive of success
- a fruitless search
- futile years after her artistic peak
- a sleeveless errand
- a vain attempt
- Synonym: bootless fruitless futile sleeveless
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2
- 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
- so swollen by victory that he was unfit for normal duty
- growing ever more swollen-headed and arbitrary
- vain about her clothes
- Synonym: conceited egotistic egotistical self-conceited swollen swollen-headed
数据来源：WordNet
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It was a vain attempt to shift the responsibility for the murder to somebody else
试图将谋杀的罪责转嫁给他人是徒劳的。
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Men has free choice . Otherwise counsels , exhortations , commands , prohibitions , rewards and punishments would be in vain .
人具有自由意志。否则，劝告、赞扬、命令、禁规、奖赏和惩罚都将是徒劳的
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Have you been taking my name in vain again ?
你又在滥用我的名义吧？
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I knocked loudly in the vain hope that someone might answer .
我敲门敲得很响，希望有人应声，却是徒然。
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They tried in vain to persuade her to go .
他们极力劝说她去，但枉费了一番口舌。
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He asked her again in the vain hope that he could persuade her to come .
他又问了她一次，徒然指望着能说服她来。
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She closed her eyes tightly in a vain attempt to hold back the tears .
她紧闭双眼，却无法忍住眼泪。
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She tried in vain to point out to him the unfairness of his actions .
她试图向他指出他的做法不公正，但无济于事。
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She 's too vain to wear glasses .
她太爱虚荣，不肯戴眼镜。
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She 's just a vain , foolish woman .
她不过是个愚蠢自负的女人。
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All our efforts were in vain .
我们的所有努力都付诸东流了。
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She searched in vain for her passport .
她翻找自己的护照，但没找着。
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He is still vain enough to dye his hair red .
他还是很虚荣，把头发染成了红褐色。
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He wants the world to know his son did not die in vain .
他想让全世界都知道，他的儿子不是白白死去的。
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It became obvious that all her complaints were in vain .
很明显她所有的抱怨都是白费口舌。
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The drafting committee worked through the night in a vain attempt to finish on schedule
起草委员会为按计划完成草案已通宵加班，但结果仍是徒劳。
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A seemingly endless line of trucks waits in vain to load up .
一眼望不到头的一长列卡车眼巴巴地等着装货。
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He married his fourth wife , Susan , in the vain hope that she would improve his health .
他娶了第四个老婆苏珊，徒然希望她能使他健康状况好转。
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He tried in vain to keep the two dogs apart before the neighbour intervened .
邻居过来帮忙前，他费了半天劲儿也没把两只狗分开。
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I was singing in a vain effort to cheer him up .
我唱歌试图让他高兴起来，结果是白费力气。
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He stopped at the door , waiting in vain for her to acknowledge his presence
他在门口停住，徒然地等待她和自己打招呼。
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I think he is shallow , vain and untrustworthy
我认为他肤浅、自负、不可靠。
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She and a neighbour tried in vain to revive him
她和邻居想尽一切办法都没能让他苏醒过来。
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Isabelle was a frivolous little fool , vain and flighty .
伊莎贝尔是个轻佻、没头脑的小女人，非常虚荣又反复无常。
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I am not a vain creature
我不是个爱慕虚荣的人。
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Parents campaigned in vain for her reinstatement .
父母们呼吁给她复职，但结果却只是徒劳。
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Throughout the Twenties , Lardner tried in vain to write a hit song , so at last he turned to parody .
整个20年代，拉德纳尝试着想要写出一首走红歌曲，可是都失败了，于是最后转向戏仿他人的作品。
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He was self-important , vain and ignorant .
他傲慢自负，虚荣无知。
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He was vain and bombastic .
他自负虚荣，大话连篇。
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She raised her head in a vain attempt to hold back the tears .
她仰起头，却无法忍住眼泪。
指努力、希望、搜寻等未能获得想要的结果的。
He underwent a knee operation in the vain hope of getting into the team.
他做了膝盖手术，徒劳地指望能进入该队。
She raised her head in a vain attempt to hold back the tears.
她仰起头，却无法忍住眼泪。
指行动、计划等没有成功的。
an abortive takeover bid by the larger firm
由较大公司提出的夭折了的并购
There is no record of the abortive military coup.
没有关于那次未遂的军事政变的记录。
尤指付出很多努力却无成效的。
So far, their research has been fruitless.
到目前为止，他们的研究工作毫无结果。
The fruitless attempt to settle the dispute disappointed him.
试图解决争端的努力白费了，这让他很失望。
侧重指人或事物未能发挥应有之作用的。
The army has proved ineffective in protecting the local civilians.
军队没有起到保护当地平民的作用。
This special stain remover was almost ineffective in removing the soup stain.
这种特效去污剂基本去不掉汤渍。
The policy proved ineffective in dealing with the problem.
事实证明该政策未能解决问题。
- 习语