Word.ws English Dictionary

takes someone's name in vain

takes someone's name in vain is the third-person singular simple present indicative of take someone's name in vain.

Meaning of take someone's name in vain

Verb

take someone's name in vain (third-person singular simple present takes someone's name in vain, present participle taking someone's name in vain, simple past took someone's name in vain, past participle taken someone's name in vain)

  1. To speak insultingly about someone, especially behind their back.
    • He never once took her name in vain among the fellows: and she had not been a very good girl, either.1887, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Jack the Fisherman, page 17

Questions about takes someone's name in vain

What is takes someone's name in vain the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Takes someone's name in vain is the third-person singular simple present indicative of take someone's name in vain.

Words near takes someone's name in vain in the dictionary

  1. takes someone's arm
  2. takes someone's breath away
  3. takes someone's fancy
  4. takes someone's head off
  5. takes someone's life
  6. takes someone's name in vain
  7. takes someone's part
  8. takes someone's place
  9. takes someone's word for it
  10. takes something as it comes
  11. takes something as read

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: takes someone's name in vain (page history and authors); take someone's name in vain (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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