Meaning of vainly in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Adverb
    1. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    US accent

    UK accent

  1. Adverb

    vainly

    Definitions

    1. to no avail

    Examples

    • « he looked for her in vain »
    • « the city fathers tried vainly to find a solution »

Famous quotes

  • « By mere burial man arrives not at bliss and in the future life, throughout its whole infinite range, they will seek for happiness as vainly as they sought it here, who seek it in aught else than that which so closely surrounds them here - the Infinite. »
    Johann Gottlieb Fichte
  • « The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self mastery. »
    Reinhold Niebuhr
  • « Unless a tree has borne blossoms in spring, you will vainly look for fruit on it in autumn. »
    Walter Scott

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