| 单词 | vain |
| 释义 | vain I. 1. < vain pomp and glory of this world — Shakespeare > < vain pretensions > < vain promises > 2. < our vain quest for a utopian equilibrium — W.H.Whyte > < a vain effort to stop the decay — H.I.Priestley > 3. archaic < all that vain men imagine or believe — P.B.Shelley > 4. < was vain about his clothes — Hugh Walpole > < was vain of the honor which he had won — J.A.Froude > < vain of his family's long history — P.L.Fermor > Synonyms: < a good deal of the older speculation on life and destiny was vain and insipid because of the theologic bias — M.R.Cohen > < unless the forces of destruction now set loose in the world are brought under control, it is vain to plan for the future — Clement Attlee > nugatory may apply to the completely insignificant or to the inoperative, ineffective, void, or null < this book is so one-sided that as a constructive contribution it is nugatory — Times Literary Supplement > < make the indictment void and nugatory > otiose describes that which is purposeless, profitless, or useless and is therefore at best superfluous and at worst encumbering and productive of unnecessary expense or difficulty < what kinds of criticism are useful and what are otiose — T.S.Eliot > < mummified customs that have long outlasted their usefulness, and otiose dogmas that have long lost their vitality — W.R.Inge > idle may suggest lack of basis or solid foundation and hence may describe that which is incapable of use or effect < in the light of our present very limited knowledge of psychological processes it seems idle to speculate as to the origins of this need — Ralph Linton > < living in an age of transition in everything and it is idle to deny that it is uncomfortable — S.P.B.Mais > empty applies to what lacks content or substance and hence significance although perhaps apparently consequential < if the right of the states to tax the means employed by the general government be conceded, the declaration that the constitution, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land, is empty and unmeaning declamation — John Marshall > < they have offered not a shred of evidence — nothing but bald assertion. And on the basis of this empty vociferation school programs and college admission requirements are overturned — C.H.Grandgent > hollow may suggest a deceiving lack of substance perceptible after examination or trial < the fight for the extension of the franchise is one of the most thrilling chapters in the history of political liberties, but its final triumph in the extension of the franchise to women came too late to conceal the fact that the victory was a hollow one, since political reforms could have little or no efficacy without corresponding economic reforms — F.B.Millett > < the old Georgian mansions were converted into rooming houses. Trees were chopped down, so that the streets could be widened. The title of “most beautiful city” became hollow — American Guide Series: Michigan > • - in vain II. obsolete |
| 随便看 |
英语词典包含332784条英英释义在线翻译词条，基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。