futile, vain, fruitless mean producing no result. futile may connote completeness of failure or unwisdom of undertaking.

FUTILE definition: 1. (of actions) having no effect or achieving nothing: 2. (of actions) having no effect or…. Learn more.

1. incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful: Attempts to swim across the stormy channel were futile. 2. trifling; frivolous.

FUTILE definition: incapable of producing any result; ineffective; useless; not successful. See examples of futile used in a sentence.

Definition of futile adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Dec 26, 2025 · futile (comparative more futile, superlative most futile) Incapable of producing results, useless; doomed not to be successful; not worth attempting. quotations

When something fails to deliver a useful result, you can call it futile. Hopefully all the time you're spending studying vocabulary won't turn out to be futile! Futile comes from the Latin futilis, which …

fu•tile•ly, adv. fu•til•i•ty /fyuˈtɪlɪti/ n. [uncountable] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025 fu•tile (fyo̅o̅t′ l, fyo̅o̅′ tīl), adj. incapable of producing any result; …

If you say that something is futile, you mean there is no point in doing it, usually because it has no chance of succeeding. He brought his arm up in a futile attempt to ward off the blow. It would be …

They made a futile [= vain] attempt to control the flooding. His speech focused on the futility of violence. They demonstrated the futility of the plan.