noun
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lack of effectiveness or success
-
lack of purpose or meaning
-
something futile
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of futility
From the Latin word fūtilitās, dating back to 1615–25. See futile, -ity
Explanation
When you can’t see the point in even trying, that’s the feeling of futility, the sense that no matter how much you work at it, nothing good will happen, so you might as well give up. What’s the point? That’s the question asked by anyone who senses the futility of something. The futility of war makes soldiers put down their weapons, and your father’s strict rules makes any protest an act of futility. The root word is the Latin futilis, which literally means “leaky.” Imagine pouring lemonade into a cup that has no bottom. No matter how long you pour, you’ll never get a sip because of that leaky cup. Ah, the futility!
Vocabulary lists containing futility
Born a Crime
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"Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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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.
Futility is one of the hardest things for cinema to convey.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 7, 2025
Futility doesn’t go quite as far as it used to.
From Washington Post • Oct. 5, 2022
Futility might be an understatement when it comes to Davis' last few years.
From Golf Digest • Apr. 8, 2019
That’s nine fewer than at the same point in 2013, which itself is the most futile completed year on record, according to The Washington Times’ Legislative Futility Index.
From Washington Times • Jul. 7, 2014
Futility, doom, became a smell in the air, pervasive and acrid as the dead smell after a forest fire—my scent and the world’s, the scent of trees, rocks, waterways wherever I went.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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.
