Word.ws English Dictionary

taking someone's name in vain

taking someone's name in vain is the present participle and gerund 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 taking someone's name in vain

What is taking someone's name in vain the present participle and gerund of?
Taking someone's name in vain is the present participle and gerund of take someone's name in vain.

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

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: taking 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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