51Թ

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View synonyms for

futile

[ fyoot-l, fyoo-tahyl ]

adjective

  1. incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful:

    Attempting to force-feed the sick horse was futile.

  2. trifling; frivolous; unimportant.


futile

/ ˈːٲɪ /

adjective

  1. having no effective result; unsuccessful
  2. pointless; unimportant; trifling
  3. inane or foolish

    don't be so futile!

“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈڳܳپԱ, noun
  • ˈڳܳپ, adverb
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • ڳt· adverb
  • ڳt·Ա noun
  • ԴDz·ڳt adjective
  • ܲ·ڳt adjective
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of futile1

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin fūtilis, futtilis “easily broken, vain, worthless,” equivalent to ū- (akin to fundere “to pour, melt”) + -ilis -ile
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of futile1

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

See useless.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Even in a world after 1916’s Easter Rising — when Irish nationalists revolted against British rule— governmental efforts to revive Irish proved futile.

From

I dropped my head into my hands and squeezed hard — a futile attempt to contain the chaos in my brain.

From

It’s like this formless, invisible gas that’s going to find you wherever you are, and so escaping it is pretty futile.

From

For a movie that starts dying a slow, painful death from its first act, its attempts to lampoon our fear of death are ironically futile.

From

What Garland did might seem futile, given President Trump's fervent embrace of capital punishment.

From

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