in vain

They attempted in vain to exorcise the spirits.

"We don't want Brent's passing to be in vain," he said.

Their efforts had clearly been in vain, but they attempted to screen the coffins from public scrutiny, draping each one in a white sheet before driving them away.

Adra hopes in vain that the mainstream media will report on these indignities, then has a visiting journalist talk grimly about once doing such a piece: People “paid attention to that for 10 minutes.”

"I found neither my home nor my siblings' homes were standing. Trump doesn't speak in vain. He knows that Gaza is no longer a place fit for human habitation."