futile
Americanadjective
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incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful.
Attempting to force-feed the sick horse was futile.
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trifling; frivolous; unimportant.
adjective
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having no effective result; unsuccessful
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pointless; unimportant; trifling
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inane or foolish
don't be so futile!
Related Words
See useless.
Other Word Forms
- futilely adverb
- futileness noun
- nonfutile adjective
- unfutile adjective
Etymology
Origin of futile
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin fūtilis, futtilis “easily broken, vain, worthless,” equivalent to fūt- (akin to fundere “to pour, melt”) + -ilis -ile
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.
He observes that, from an engineering perspective, it might be futile to try making machines that are fully human—after all, our various abilities have been refined through a lengthy, data-rich evolution.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
For now, mining is largely done in ways reminiscent of the United States' gold rush in the 19th century, when so many ended up exhausted in a futile hunt for treasure.
From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026
So you’re not saying that that is a pointless exercise, that the pushback is futile because none of this has meaning.
From Slate • Feb. 3, 2026
Potts was asked to bowl one more futile spell of bouncers, with the maddening Smith playing tennis-style smashes and signalling a wide to the umpires.
From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026
My mom is right, of course—what I’m doing is futile.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
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.
