通常用作短语 in vain 。
例句： All her effort was in vain at last .
她所有的努力最后都白费了。

It's well worth making the effort to learn how to do it.

很值得花一番功夫学会做这件事。

A great effort was made . . . to obscure or obfuscate the truth(Robert Conquest) .

费了很大力去…阻止和搅乱真相(罗伯特 康奎斯特)。

Their effort toward the settlement of the border dispute is praiseworthy.

他们为解决边界争端所作的努力是值得赞扬的。

Practice needs great effort and takes much time.

实践需要付出大量的努力和时间。

※Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money ; it lies in the joy of achievement , in the thrill of creative effort .(Franklin Roosevelt , American president )——幸福不在于拥有金钱，而在于获得成就时的喜悦以及产生创造力的激情。(美国总统 罗斯福. F.)