Word a Day
vain
What does vain mean?
vain (adjective): overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you use vain in a sentence?
- He's extremely vain. (Tatoeba sentence #12464125 by Miktsoanit, CC BY 2.0 FR)
How do you pronounce vain?
/veɪn/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does vain come from?
From Middle English veyn, from Old French vain, from Latin vānus (“empty”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “vain”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “vain” mean?
precisely agreeing with a standard, a fact, or the truth; perfectly conforming; neither exceeding nor falling short in any respect
Not quite: that's what exact means.
overly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason
Right! That's what “vain” means.
see-through, clear; having the property that light passes through it almost undisturbed, such that one can see through it clearly
Not quite: that's what transparent means.
standing, pointing, or moving straight up or down; parallel to the local direction of gravity; along the direction of a plumb line
Not quite: that's what vertical means.
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