What's the difference between pointless and vain?

Pointless


Definition:

  • (a.) Having no point; blunt; wanting keenness; obtuse; as, a pointless sword; a pointless remark.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The citizenship debate is tawdry, conflated and ultimately pointless | Richard Ackland Read more On Wednesday, the prime minister criticised lawyers for backing terrorists.
  • (2) It’s the same story over and over.” Children’s author Philip Ardagh , who told the room he once worked as an “unprofessional librarian” in Lewisham, said: “Closing down a library is like filing off the end of a swordfish’s nose: pointless.” 'Speak up before there's nothing left': authors rally for National Libraries Day Read more “Today proves that support for public libraries comes from all walks of life and it’s not rocket science to work out why.
  • (3) But now the document turns crazily surreal, like the pointless war itself.
  • (4) And David Ngog was a pointless signing too – one which puzzled us all.
  • (5) "It is pointless to think sovereign bond rates could be brought down for an extended period of time by outside interventions," said Draghi.
  • (6) They aren't pointless; apart from any craft they may teach, they can also offer connections and contacts – a "way in" – which is the modern essential of anyone trying to start a career.
  • (7) An Australian family that lost three children and a grandfather in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has published an emotional tribute calling for an end to the “pointless war” in eastern Ukraine.
  • (8) People are criticising what we are doing as pointless and saying we won’t achieve anything, but history has shown us that is not the case,” student leader Joshua Wong told the crowd last week.
  • (9) It is pointless to go back over the missed opportunities, but an essential part of the design of this regional conference is that it should be able to be supported by Russia and China as well as the US.
  • (10) Hoodies don't vote, they've realised it's pointless, that whoever gets elected will just be a different shade of the "we don't give a toss about you" party.
  • (11) Bojórquez, the editor, says that for the moment the risks are manageable within his commitment to the idea that journalism is pointless unless it informs.
  • (12) The others are either infuriatingly vague (“An NHS with time to care”) or pointlessly catch-all (“A country where the next generation can do better than the last”).
  • (13) Especially when there’s no funeral to go to, just an endless stream of pointless review meetings.
  • (14) "If this doesn't bring down mortgage rates for 95% loans then the whole thing is completely pointless," he said.
  • (15) To express guarded optimism about the Greek deal is not to condone the provocative arrogance of former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis or the pointless vindictiveness of the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble .
  • (16) The PCC came under fire last week from the editor of the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, who branded its report on phone hacking at the News of the World "worse than pointless".
  • (17) 3 Don’t be afraid to talk about corruption Poverty overseas is often associated with corruption: 67% of the British public think that government corruption makes donating to reduce poverty “pointless” (up from 48% in 2008), according to research from Jennifer and David Hudson.
  • (18) But it's a pointless endeavour if the fundraising activity contributes to and compounds the culture in which our breasts are only relevant if they're being admired by someone else's eyes.
  • (19) Quibbling over whether fashion is more or less important than art is just as pointless as questioning whether or not it is art.
  • (20) Why should Paris or Berlin waste political capital - they have suspicious voters too - on concessions to Britain when it may all be pointless?

Vain


Definition:

  • (superl.) Having no real substance, value, or importance; empty; void; worthless; unsatisfying.
  • (superl.) Destitute of forge or efficacy; effecting no purpose; fruitless; ineffectual; as, vain toil; a vain attempt.
  • (superl.) Proud of petty things, or of trifling attainments; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with slight reason; conceited; puffed up; inflated.
  • (superl.) Showy; ostentatious.
  • (n.) Vanity; emptiness; -- now used only in the phrase in vain.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) For example, if we purchase new examination equipment without any consideration or if we decide what type of equipment to introduce according to the common advice of the purchase committee of the hospital or the medical school, then we cannot design an ideal system of laboratory examinations and are forced to invest a large sum of money in vain.
  • (2) The George Bush campaign juggernaut hit the first serious pothole of its cash-fuelled drive to the presidency yesterday, as the Texas governor tried in vain to fend off questions about whether he had used cocaine as a young man.
  • (3) Full set list, show one (thanks to princevault.com ) Take Me With U (acoustic) Raspberry Beret (acoustic) U Got The Look (acoustic) Instrumental jam (acoustic) Train In Vain (acoustic) Q & A (1) incl.
  • (4) VaIN rarely is an isolated lesion and frequently is preceded by, or coexists with, other types of premalignant genital squamous neoplasia.
  • (5) He’s the kind of self-styled intellectual journalist in politics who caused so much trouble in 20th century politics, not a bad man, decent enough in his way, but not as smart as he thinks he is, vain with it.
  • (6) For long spells, West Ham searched in vain for inspiration as they tried to find a way past Newcastle United’s defence and end a run of three matches without a win.
  • (7) Further, in a vain attempt for a boost in the Hoosier State, Cruz unveiled former rival Carly Fiorina as his running mate if he receives the nomination and was able to cajole the state’s sitting governor, Mike Pence, into an endorsement.
  • (8) The next few days may well determine whether, this time, such loyalty will be in vain; but, while yearning for a clarion call and what was described as "vision" in this paper's leading article yesterday, I need to pose some pretty stark questions to Guardian readers.
  • (9) He aims to put his newspapers, including the Times and the Sun, behind a paywall, something described by the co-founder of Twitter, Biz Stone, as a vain attempt to "put the genie back in the bottle".
  • (10) In vain I argued that Robin Day seemed to wear the same jacket and shirt every week, and fled back to radio."
  • (11) Now I can feel that my son's blood wasn't totally lost in vain.
  • (12) In vain will Cameron plead that blame should lie with Brown and his Labour colleagues.
  • (13) At a media day held to mark the completion of the training and arranged before the tragedy, soldier after soldier came forward to insist that, though they were apprehensive, they were determined to do a good job, partly to make sure that their six colleagues had not died in vain.
  • (14) He somehow scrambled to deuce and delighted in forcing Dimitrov to chase in vain from one side of the court to the other to go 6-5 up.
  • (15) Assessment of patients between 9 and 99 (mean 55) months after partial colpectomy for VAIN showed no recurrence of disease in ten patients (83%).
  • (16) The scientific establishment struggled in vain to produce evidence that would reassure the public.
  • (17) No grieving wants to go through that, and our city doesn’t want to go through that.” Murphy said an accelerated program to equip Baltimore police officers with body cameras would mean Gray “did not die in vain”.
  • (18) His mother has said she tried in vain to get help for him.
  • (19) But he flailed in vain as the police officers grabbed him, one forcing his T-shirt roughly up over his head as three or four others laid in with their wooden batons, dragging and pushing him to a line of waiting Land Cruisers and more helmeted cops.
  • (20) As Steve spends half his money trying in vain to keep a scowl off Michelle's face and the rest comfort eating, Liz stumped up half the cash.