Synonym Chooser

How is the word fruitless different from other adjectives like it?

The words futile and vain are common synonyms of fruitless. While all three words mean "producing no result," fruitless comes close to vain but often suggests long and arduous effort or severe disappointment.

fruitless efforts to obtain a lasting peace

When might futile be a better fit than fruitless?

The words futile and fruitless are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, futile may connote completeness of failure or unwisdom of undertaking.

resistance had proved so futile that surrender was the only choice left

When can vain be used instead of fruitless?

The words vain and fruitless can be used in similar contexts, but vain usually implies simple failure to achieve a desired result.

a vain attempt to get the car started

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fruitless But my husband cut him out and Dad was left for years making fruitless communication attempts via email, voice messages — even snail mail. Gillian Telling, People.com, 16 Oct. 2024 But his effort quickly proved fruitless and ill-advised: the entire neighborhood was rushing to evacuate around him. Robin Pogrebin, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025 Unlike Sisyphus, though, Ben’s work wasn’t fruitless. Hazlitt, 3 Dec. 2024 Many problems require long periods of sustained and seemingly fruitless effort. Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 31 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for fruitless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fruitless
Adjective
  • Nash’s cousin Allene Love told the Star-Telegram that family members’ efforts to obtain answers from police have been unsuccessful.
    Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Mar. 2025
  • At least 24,000 probationary employees have been terminated since President Trump took office, the lawsuit alleges, though efforts by the judge to get an estimate from a government attorney at a hearing Wednesday were unsuccessful.
    CBS News, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • This is where the montage sequences get really aggressive, assaulting the viewer with imagery of barren alien landscapes and skulls with the flesh melting off of their faces.
    Katie Rife, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Even along the relatively mild coasts, where summer temperatures hover just below freezing, the land is a barren expanse of rock, ice and snow.
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The data suggests that market timing is not a futile exercise but a skill - one that, like any other, is unevenly distributed and requires both technological sophistication and human insight to exploit effectively.
    Steven Desmyter, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Former Vice President Mohammad-Ali Abtahi dismissed negotiations with Trump as futile, arguing that Trump's leadership made diplomacy ineffective.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • In this world, the severance procedure literally splits the mind into work and non-work compartments, resulting in employees who live dual existences: one governed by the sterile demands of corporate productivity and the other shrouded in personal mystery.
    Benjamin Laker, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
  • This is a sterile, forgettable little movie that has quickly come to function more as a time capsule than a salient bit of commentary, but there’s something valuable about the sobriety of its perspective.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Landing on the Moon comes with numerous complications, including an often-uneven surface and the lack of an atmosphere, rendering parachutes useless.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 18 Mar. 2025
  • This was quite the useless promo, and much of what Rollins said could have been saved for SmackDown.
    Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • After a brief and unfruitful stint as a scout for the major league Milwaukee Brewers in the early 1970s, Uecker moved to the radio booth.
    Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Some new grads have expressed frustration with lengthy and unfruitful job searches and questioned whether their work earning a degree was worth it.
    Jamie Merisotis, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Fruitless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fruitless. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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