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Synonyms

fruitless

American  
[froot-lis] / ˈfrut lɪs /

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 British  
/ ˈfruːtlɪs /

adjective

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

  2. without fruit

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • fruitlessly adverb
  • fruitlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of fruitless

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

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.