unfruitful

American  

[uhn-froot-fuhl] / ʌnˈfrut fəl /

adjective

1. not providing satisfaction; unprofitable.

   unfruitful efforts.

   Synonyms:

   unrewarding, vain, unproductive, fruitless

2. not producing offspring; sterile.

   an unfruitful marriage.

3. not yielding good crops; infertile.

   unfruitful acres.

4. not bearing fruit; fruitless; barren.

   an unfruitful tree.

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unfruitful British  

/ ʌnˈfruːtfʊl /

adjective

1. barren, unproductive, or unprofitable

2. failing to produce or develop into fruit

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Other Word Forms

• unfruitfully adverb
• unfruitfulness noun

Etymology

Origin of unfruitful

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; un- ¹, fruitful

Example Sentences

A defence lawyer asked him about the Mazan years, when Gisèle was suffering from memory loss and her husband was dutifully accompanying her to unfruitful medical appointments.

From BBC

But the meeting proved unfruitful, with the Syrians not providing any proof-of-life information and making demands that U.S. officials deemed unreasonable.

From Seattle Times

A long and unfruitful detour into basketry unfolds.

From Los Angeles Times

In Seattle, Starbucks and the union, Starbucks Workers United, clashed over employee firings, closure of unionized stores and unfruitful contract negotiations.

From Seattle Times

Egypt has been negotiating to replace a detained Ukrainian wheat shipment, two people with knowledge of the matter said, after talks to release the vessel carrying it proved unfruitful.

From Reuters