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You are here: Home / Difference / Vane vs. Vain vs. Vein

Vane vs. Vain vs. Vein

June 25, 2017 - pdf

Here’s another set of homophones that also confuse some writers. Although vane, vain, and vein sound alike, they have very different meanings and uses. This post will help you determine which word to use in your sentence and how to distinguish between the three.

The word vane is used as noun referring to “a broad blade attached to a rotating axis or wheel that pushes or is pushed by wind or water and forms part of a machine or device such as a windmill, propeller, or turbine.”

“Trump’s weather-vane presidency gyrates wildly with the winds”
Washington Post

Fire company wants to return weather vane to roof
The Winchester Star

Old Motor Donates Rotor for Coaxial Wind Vane and Anemometer
Hackaday

On the other hand, the term vain is used as an adjective which means “having or showing an excessively high opinion of one’s appearance, abilities, or worth,” “producing no result,” or “useless.”

Deaths of two UN experts in DRC must not be in vain
Amnesty International USA

Steven Gerrard reveals the most vain footballers he’s ever played with – and it’s bad news for Jamie Carragher
Mirror.co.uk

Meanwhile, the word vein is used as a noun referring to “any of the tubes forming part of the blood circulation system of the body, carrying in most cases oxygen-depleted blood toward the heart” or “a fracture in rock containing a deposit of minerals or ore and typically having an extensive course underground.”

Varicose Veins: Why We Get Them and What Can Help
University of Rochester Newsroom

Winston Gold Mining: Drilling Extends Vein Structures…
Junior Mining Network

Venipuncture Procedure Analysis By Success Rate, Vein Type,…
Yahoo Finance

Now that you have learned the differences between the three terms, you will hopefully be able to utilize them in your writing correctly.

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