in vain

Examples

• All

• Do you guys ever feel like some of it's in vain because of that?

• Don't let their deaths be in vain.

  Reign of Chaos (2022)

• Your death will not be in vain!

  Hardly Beloved (2011)

• Please, Mr. Lee, if you do this, everything will be in vain.

  The Demon Deep in Oklahoma (2013)

• And more of our brothers have died in vain.

  The Rock (1996)

• Every evening, I try in vain to throw it out of my mind.

  Fiction book (1992)

• At any rate, it would be in vain because it does not reveal anything.

  Fiction book (1994)

• Many are unaware of the coming changes, while those who are attempt in vain to prevent them.

  Academic text (1999)

• Robin and the others try in vain to lift the portcullis.

  Fiction book (1991)

• The team worked tirelessly, but their efforts were in vain as they lost the championship.

Synonyms

U

unsuccessfully

vsin vain

30 3.0

In a way that does not get the result you wanted

is the idiomatic phrase used similarly to state lack of success

V

vainly

vsin vain

5 5.5

In a way that does not succeed

is the general expression for not achieving the intended result

U

uselessly

vsin vain

4 3.5

In a way that does not help or make any difference

describes lack of success without stressing absence of usefulness

F

futilely

vsin vain

3 7.4

In a way that does not make a difference

notes failure to achieve aims rather than uselessness of effort

I

ineffectively

vsin vain

2 4.0

In a way that does not get the result you want

states failure in achieving the intended result in general terms

F

fruitlessly

vsin vain

2 6.0

In a way that does not succeed

focuses on failing to achieve the desired result not usefulness

T

to little avail

vsin vain

• Archaic

1 7.4

With little success and no real result

means almost no success rather than complete failure

U

unproductively

vsin vain

1 6.7

In a way that fails to get useful results

focuses on low output or efficiency rather than outright failure

U

unavailingly

vsin vain

1 8.0

Without success when someone tries to do something

expresses lack of success in a more familiar, idiomatic way

A

abortively

vsin vain

1 7.9

In a way that fails to reach the goal

describes lack of success without suggesting early stopping

I

inefficaciously

vsin vain

9.9

In a way that does not work or help

means the same failure but without formal or technical wording

Antonyms

S

successful

∞ 1.6

You have achieved what you wanted

How Successful

successfully

337 1.8

in vain

104 3.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology