in vaina) FAILwithout success in spite of your efforts 徒劳，无结果 Police searched in vain for the missing gunman. 警方搜寻失踪的持枪歹徒，但毫无结果。
b) without purpose or without positive results 白白地 Altman swore that his son’s death would not be in vain. 阿尔特曼发誓他的儿子不会白死。
→ take somebody’s name in vain at name1(12) in vain• If people don't learn from this, then his suffering and death were in vain.• It took a great deal of courage to admit that all her efforts had been in vain.• Police have spent hours searching in vain for the missing teenager.• Workers tried in vain to keep the building from collapsing.• Doctors tried in vain to save him but he died just before dawn.
→ in vain at vain(1)