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Definition of In vain
1. Adverb. To no avail. "The city fathers tried vainly to find a solution"
Definition of In vain
1. Adverb. (idiomatic) Without success; ending in failure. ¹
2. Adverb. (idiomatic) In a disrespectful manner, especially when concerning religion. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of In Vain
Literary usage of In vain
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York by Daniel Defoe (1790)
"... in the ordinary way of living ; but in vain : and how they retorted it upon them,
... in vain ..."
2. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, by a Square, with Illustration by by Edwin Abbott Abbott (1899)
"How the Sphere, having in vain tried words, resorted to deeds. It was in vain.
I brought my hardest right angle into violent collision with the Stranger, ..."
3. The woman in white by Wilkie Collins (1871)
"Miss Halcombe tried to shake her resolution ; but, in this one instance, tried
in vain. She was immovable. Her dim eyes lit with a sudden fire, ..."
4. The Iliad of Homer by Homer, John Graham Cordery (1871)
"'Gin lap the blood and offal; whilst the men Press on their foe and cheer their
dogs in vain; Who shun to grip a lion with their teeth, But off him bark and ..."
5. The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York by Daniel Defoe (1790)
"... in the ordinary way of living ; but in vain : and how they retorted it upon them,
... in vain ..."
6. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, by a Square, with Illustration by by Edwin Abbott Abbott (1899)
"How the Sphere, having in vain tried words, resorted to deeds. It was in vain.
I brought my hardest right angle into violent collision with the Stranger, ..."
7. The woman in white by Wilkie Collins (1871)
"Miss Halcombe tried to shake her resolution ; but, in this one instance, tried
in vain. She was immovable. Her dim eyes lit with a sudden fire, ..."
8. The Iliad of Homer by Homer, John Graham Cordery (1871)
"'Gin lap the blood and offal; whilst the men Press on their foe and cheer their
dogs in vain; Who shun to grip a lion with their teeth, But off him bark and ..."
Other Resources:
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