Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Vanity \Van"i*ty\, n.; pl. {Vanities}. [OE. vanite, vanit['e],
   L. vanitas, fr. vanus empty, vain. See {Vain}.]
   1. The quality or state of being vain; want of substance to
      satisfy desire; emptiness; unsubstantialness; unrealness;
      falsity.

            Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of
            vanities; all is vanity.              --Eccl. i. 2.

            Here I may well show the vanity of that which is
            reported in the story of Walsingham.  --Sir J.
                                                  Davies.

   2. An inflation of mind upon slight grounds; empty pride
      inspired by an overweening conceit of one's personal
      attainments or decorations; an excessive desire for notice
      or approval; pride; ostentation; conceit.

            The exquisitely sensitive vanity of Garrick was
            galled.                               --Macaulay.

   3. That which is vain; anything empty, visionary, unreal, or
      unsubstantial; fruitless desire or effort; trifling labor
      productive of no good; empty pleasure; vain pursuit; idle
      show; unsubstantial enjoyment.

            Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher. --Eccl. i.
                                                  2.

            Vanity possesseth many who are desirous to know the
            certainty of things to come.          --Sir P.
                                                  Sidney.

            [Sin] with vanity had filled the works of men.
                                                  --Milton.

            Think not, when woman's transient breath is fled,
            That all her vanities at once are dead; Succeeding
            vanities she still regards.           --Pope.

   4. One of the established characters in the old moralities
      and puppet shows. See {Morality}, n., 5.

            You . . . take vanity the puppet's part. --Shak.

   Syn: Egotism; pride; emptiness; worthlessness;
        self-sufficiency. See {Egotism}, and {Pride}.

Source : WordNet®

vanity
     n 1: feelings of excessive pride [syn: {amour propre}, {conceit},
           {self-love}]
     2: the quality of being valueless or futile; "he rejected the
        vanities of the world" [syn: {emptiness}]
     3: the trait of being vain and conceited [syn: {conceit}]
     4: low table with mirror or mirrors where one sits while
        dressing or applying makeup [syn: {dressing table}, {dresser},
         {toilet table}]