• adj. 徒勞的；自負(fù)的；無(wú)結(jié)果的；無(wú)用的

來(lái)自拉丁語(yǔ)vanus,空的，虛無(wú)的，來(lái)自PIE*wa-no,分開(kāi)的，遺棄的，詞源同vacate,want,wane.

vain

vain: [13] Latin vānus meant ‘empty’ (it was related to vacuus ‘empty’, source of English vacuum). It passed into English via Old French vain in the sense ‘worthless’, and the main modern meaning ‘conceited’ did not develop until the 17th century. Also from vānus come English evanescent, vanish, vanity [13], and vaunt [14], and wane, want, etc go back to the same ultimate Indo-European base.
=> evanescent, vanish, vanity, vaunt, wane, want

vain (adj.)

c. 1300, "devoid of real value, idle, unprofitable," from Old French vain, vein "worthless, void, invalid, feeble; conceited" (12c.), from Latin vanus "empty, void," figuratively "idle, fruitless," from PIE *wa-no-, from root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out" (cognates: Old English wanian "to lessen," wan "deficient;" Old Norse vanta "to lack;" Latin vacare "to be empty," vastus "empty, waste;" Avestan va- "lack," Persian vang "empty, poor;" Sanskrit una- "deficient," Armenian unain "empty").

Meaning "conceited, elated with a high opinion of oneself" first recorded 1690s in English; earlier "silly, idle, foolish" (late 14c.). Phrase in vain "to no effect" (c. 1300, after Latin in vanum) preserves the original sense. Related: Vainly; vainness. Compare also vainglory.

1. He is still vain enough to dye his hair red.

他還是很虛榮，把頭發(fā)染成了紅褐色。

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2. It became obvious that all her complaints were in vain.

很明顯她所有的抱怨都是白費(fèi)口舌。

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3. I am not a vain creature.

我不是個(gè)愛(ài)慕虛榮的人。

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4. She is perceived as vain, spoilt and promiscuous.

她被認(rèn)為是個(gè)被人慣壞了的、既虛榮又淫亂的女人。

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5. He was self-important, vain and ignorant.

他傲慢自負(fù)，虛榮無(wú)知。

來(lái)自柯林斯例句