futile
[ fyoot-l, fyoo-tahyl ]
/ ˈfyut l, ˈfyu taɪl /
adjective
incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful: Attempting to force-feed the sick horse was futile.
trifling; frivolous; unimportant.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
fruitless, worthless, impractical, ineffective, vain, insufficient, hollow, ineffectual, useless, unsuccessful, unproductive, unprofitable, trivial, abortive, barren, bootless, delusive, empty, exhausted, forlorn
Nearby words
- futa jallon,
- futabatei,
- futcher's line,
- futhark,
- futhorc,
- futilely,
- futilitarian,
- futility,
- futon,
- futsal
Origin of futile
1545–55; < Latin fūtilis, futtilis easily broken, vain, worthless, equivalent to fūt- (akin to fundere to pour, melt) + -ilis -ile
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for futile
futile
/ (ˈfjuːtaɪl) /
adjective
having no effective result; unsuccessful
pointless; unimportant; trifling
inane or foolishdon't be so futile!
Word Origin for futile
C16: from Latin futtilis pouring out easily, worthless, from fundere to pour out
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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futile
1550s, from Middle French futile, from Latin futilis "vain, worthless, futile," literally "pouring out easily" (of a vessel), hence "easily emptied, leaky, unreliable," from base of fundere "pour, melt," from PIE root *gheu- "to pour" (see found (v.2)). Related: Futilely.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper