fruitless

[froot-lis]

adjective

1. useless; unproductive; without results or success.

   a fruitless search for the missing treasure.

   Synonyms: vain, unavailing, futile
   Antonyms: profitable, useful

2. bearing no fruit; barren.

   Synonyms: sterile
   Antonyms: fertile

fruitless

/ ˈfruːtlɪs /

adjective

1. yielding nothing or nothing of value; unproductive; ineffectual

2. without fruit

Other Word Forms

• fruitlessly adverb
• fruitlessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fruitless¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; fruit, -less

Example Sentences

But, if protesting is just fruitless exhibitionism, as Teddy claims, and radical acts of direct action don’t seem to work any better, what is there to do if no one will listen?

Read more on Salon

Dating apps are frequently derided as fruitless exercises in ego-demolition, but the encounters and relationships depicted here make the anonymity and distance apps provide seem like a warm, protective blanket.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

More than ever, job seekers need to “remind themselves of their own superpowers and how they know they add value,” she said, rather than give up after so many fruitless submissions and leads.

Read more on MarketWatch

But the pursuit of that false “certainty,” the anxiously feeling around in the darkness for solid, packed earth, is ultimately fruitless.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Fiber optic cables are made primarily of plastic and glass, which leads to fruitless vandalism, Dist.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abortive 
• futile 
• ineffective 
• ineffectual 
• pointless 
• unproductive 
• unsuccessful 
• useless