fruitless
Americanadjective
-
useless; unproductive; without results or success.
a fruitless search for the missing treasure.
- Synonyms:
- vain, unavailing, futile
- Antonyms:
- profitable, useful
-
bearing no fruit; barren.
- Synonyms:
- sterile
- Antonyms:
- fertile
adjective
-
yielding nothing or nothing of value; unproductive; ineffectual
-
without fruit
Other Word Forms
- fruitlessly adverb
- fruitlessness noun
Etymology
Origin of fruitless
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.
Over the course of seven years and 700 sorties, 29 planes had been lost in a fruitless attempt to take out a single bridge across the Song Ma river, dubbed the Dragon’s Jaw.
The airline's union for flight attendants issued a "no confidence" vote in Isom, while the pilots's union amplified a demand to meet with American's board of directors after describing conversations alone with management as fruitless.
From Barron's
After hours of fruitless negotiations, a vote was ultimately called, with Cordano coming through two rounds, defeating candidates from Senegal and Pakistan.
From Barron's
Efforts by Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia in recent days were similarly fruitless, people familiar with those outreaches said.
It was to prove fruitless in any case as Revie put an end to the rumours with a phone call from his holiday to Leeds director Percy Woodward.
From BBC
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.
