The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - vainadj.

1) proud, conceited, haughty, arrogant, boastful, egotistical, cocky, self-important, vainglorious, narcissistic, Colloq big-headed, swell-headed, stuck-up, swollen-headed: They are so vain that they have mirrors in every room. 2) worthless, profitless, bootless, pointless, unsuccessful, empty, futile, useless, unavailing, unproductive, fruitless, ineffective, abortive: Peter sent Carol flowers every day in a vain attempt to win her back. 3) in vain. a vainly, futilely, unsuccessfully, fruitlessly, bootlessly: In vain, we sought the help of the police. b irreverently, blasphemously, disrespectfully, improperly: Despite his mother's admonitions, he continues to take the Lord's name in vain.