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definitions

inutile

[in-yoo-til]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inutile ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of no use or service.

Origin of inutile

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word inūtilis. See in-3, utile
Related formsin·u·tile·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for inutile

abortive, bootless, disadvantageous, dysfunctional, expendable, feckless, fruitless, futile, good-for-nothing, hopeless, idle, impracticable, impractical, incompetent, ineffective, ineffectual, inept, inoperative, meaningless, pointless

Examples from the Web for inutile

Historical Examples of inutile

  • The tune of her life had never sounded so discouragingly faint and inutile.

    Visionaries

    James Huneker

  • There is a lot of inutile talk about "significant form" by propagandists of the New Æsthetic.

    Unicorns

    James Huneker

  • M. France sees and notes many gestures, inutile or tragic, notes them with the enthralling simplicity of a complicated artist.

    Egoists

    James Huneker

  • Inutile à dire que ses vêtements se trouvent imprégnés du “smell of india-rubber.”

    Old Friends

    Andrew Lang

  • Next she found the telephone wire cut and the speaking tube battered and inutile.

    The Drums Of Jeopardy

    Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for inutile

inutile

adjective

rare useless; unprofitable
Derived Formsinutilely, adverbinutility, 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
Word Origin and History for inutile
adj.

late 15c., from French inutile (12c., inutele), from Latin inutilis "useless, unprofitable," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + utilis (see utility).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper