futile
Americanadjective
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incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful.
Attempting to force-feed the sick horse was futile.
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trifling; frivolous; unimportant.
adjective
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having no effective result; unsuccessful
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pointless; unimportant; trifling
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inane or foolish
don't be so futile!
Synonym Usage
See useless.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of futile
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin fūtilis, futtilis “easily broken, vain, worthless,” equivalent to fūt- (akin to fundere “to pour, melt”) + -ilis -ile
Explanation
When something fails to deliver a useful result, you can call it futile. Hopefully all the time you're spending studying vocabulary won't turn out to be futile! Futile comes from the Latin futilis, which originally meant "leaky." Although we use futile to talk about more than buckets, the image of a leaky vessel is a good illustration of the adjective. Pouring water into a leaky bucket is futile. Your exercise program will be futile if you don't stop chowing down on chocolate. Futile is fancier than its synonym useless. Other synonyms are fruitless or vain. The i can be either short (FYOO-t'l) or long (FYOO-tile).
Vocabulary lists containing futile
"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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I Am Malala
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The Hunger Games
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kerri Kenney-Silver, 56, is an actor and comedian known for the film “A Futile and Stupid Gesture” and TV’s “Reno 911!” and “Love.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Stewart introduced the audience to a new segment "The Futile Crescent" with a "Middle East Conflict Disclaimer Cam."
From Salon • Feb. 27, 2024
Throughout Resistance is Futile there is a prevailing sense that after 30 years of fighting, the Blackwood band are finally giving in to the modern world but - crucially - not giving up.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2018
In a Jan. 26 Movies, Ellin Stein mischaracterized a few of the details of the film A Futile and Stupid Gesture.
From Slate • Feb. 2, 2018
A Futile Effort to Make Peace On another point I found General Beauregard more amenable to editorial suggestion, though reluctantly so.
From Recollections of a Varied Life by Eggleston, George Cary
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
