futile

[ fyoot-l, fyoo-tahyl ]

See synonyms for: futile futilely on Thesaurus.com

adjective

incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful: Attempting to force-feed the sick horse was futile.
trifling; frivolous; unimportant.

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

synonym study For futile

1. See useless.

Other words from futile

fu·tile·ly, adverb
fu·tile·ness, noun
non·fu·tile, adjective
un·fu·tile, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use futile in a sentence

Locals threw buckets of dirt on the craft in a futile attempt to extinguish the flames.
The Man Who Fell From Space | Sean Braswell | November 27, 2020 | Ozy
That might explain why its rays were so futile when it came to getting temperatures to rise today.
PM Update: Hard freeze tonight for much of the area, then we start warming up Thursday | Ian Livingston | November 18, 2020 | Washington Post
After a futile possession by the Jets, the Patriots got the ball back at their 22-yard line with 47 seconds to play.
The Patriots’ season isn’t fixed, but at least they avoided losing to the Jets | Mark Maske | November 10, 2020 | Washington Post
Without the ability to know the source of the data, permanently opting out of cookie tracking was generally futile.
What’s left when the cookie goes away? | Michael Hussey | November 2, 2020 | Search Engine Watch
Trapping him is futile, given that few big men can contain Walker in space, and dropping too low lets him feast in areas where he’s very comfortable.
Give Boston’s Kemba Walker A Double Pick And Watch Him Work | Michael Pina | August 31, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight

But conservatism now feels a lot like liberalism did in 1984 and 1985, back when I was futilely shoveling away that snow.
The Case for Transformation | Michael Tomasky | January 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
I have spent the many years since trying, futilely, to catch up.
Inside the NYT Book Review: ‘How I Write’ Interviews Sam Tanenhaus | Noah Charney | August 8, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Israel is quick to laud those who fought the Nazis, no matter how futilely, over those who went powerless to their deaths.
Israel's Private Shame | Matt Beynon Rees | April 21, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
Houston reeled with the effect of it; he gasped, he struggled aimlessly, futilely, for words to answer it.
The White Desert | Courtney Ryley Cooper
Her shoulders heaved as—futilely—she strove to wrench her arms free.
From Place to Place | Irvin S. Cobb
A steel door bars the public from this laboratory and it was upon this door that Joy and I pounded futilely for three days.
"And That's How It Was, Officer" | Ralph Sholto
"She's having a dose, she is," said a young woman walking up and down, futilely patting the back of a shrieking infant.
Workhouse Characters | Margaret Wynne Nevinson
When Teddy found himself a pauper he had raged furiously and futilely, and the gallop to the grave went at double pace.
Workhouse Characters | Margaret Wynne Nevinson

British Dictionary definitions for futile

futile

/ (ˈfjuːtaɪl) /

adjective

having no effective result; unsuccessful
pointless; unimportant; trifling

inane or foolish: don't be so futile!

Origin of futile

C16: from Latin futtilis pouring out easily, worthless, from fundere to pour out

Derived forms of futile

futilely, adverb
futileness, noun

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

Browse