futile
/ˈfjuːtʌɪl
/adjective
Incapable of producing any useful result; pointless: a futile attempt to keep fans from mounting the stage it is futile to allocate blame for this...
- Although residents put up pockets of resistance, their attempts were largely futile.
- You shift from one leg to the other, but know that that is a fairly futile attempt to relieve your discomfort.
- They do not show an act of suicide but an attempt, however futile, to escape death.
Synonyms
fruitless, vain, pointless;
useless, worthless, ineffectual, ineffective, inefficacious, to no effect, of no use, in vain, to no avail, unavailing;
unsuccessful, failed, thwarted;
unproductive, barren, unprofitable, abortive;
impotent, hollow, empty, forlorn, idle, sterile, nugatory, valueless;
hopeless, doomed, lost
Australian/New Zealand informal no good to gundy
archaic bootless
Derivatives
futilely
/ adverb ...- Most days at least one gets itself stuck in the house, usually trying valiantly but ultimately futilely to fly through one of our closed windows.
- And I did spend a lot of time futilely trying to talk to the FBI press office about the flight.
- With each retelling, the story of the men who died gloriously but futilely just a few miles from help has seemed increasingly ridiculous.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Latin futilis 'leaky, futile', apparently from fundere 'pour'.
Rhymes
- pastophorus
- pastor
- pastora
- pastorage
- pastoral
- pastoral charge
- pastoral company
- pastoral district
- pastorale
- Pastoral Epistle
- Pastoral Epistles
- pastoralia
- pastoralise
- pastoralism
- pastoralist
- pastorality
- pastoralization
- pastoralize
- pastoralized
- pastoral lease
- pastoral letter
- pastorally
- pastoralness
- pastoral property
- pastoral run