Synonym Chooser

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

The words fruitless and vain are common synonyms of futile. While all three words mean "producing no result," futile may connote completeness of failure or unwisdom of undertaking.

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

How do fruitless and vain relate to one another, in the sense of futile?

Fruitless comes close to vain but often suggests long and arduous effort or severe disappointment.

fruitless efforts to obtain a lasting peace

When could vain be used to replace futile?

The words vain and futile 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 futile The deadpan fun comes from Orsolya’s futile search for a shoulder to cry on. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 19 Feb. 2025 Edward is paralyzed by the realization that shedding your skin, your name, and your history isn’t transformation but a futile disavowal. Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2025 North Dakota also cosigned a brief in support of a controversial, although ultimately futile, attempt by Utah to dismantle the broader federal public lands system. Mary Steurer, ProPublica, 24 Jan. 2025 For Alok Bansal, a newspaper columnist, the exercise is futile – and threatens to deepen divisions. Sushmita Pathak, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for futile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for futile
Adjective
  • Last May, students barricaded themselves inside the building—after dedicating it to the famed Palestinian painter who died in 2024 following unsuccessful appeals for a medical evacuation from Gaza— amid a rising wave of pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses across the United States.
    Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Nonetheless, Punk had two very unsuccessful, farcical moments in the Octagon, so there could be some credence to Paul’s thought that White wanted nothing else to do with a crossover fight from a WWE Superstar.
    Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Finally, its focus on physics means that things get silly pretty quickly, which makes for very shareable moments and clips.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Dozen Bakery off Nolensville Pike is celebrating this silliest of holidays with special pies and quiche.
    Adam Tamburin, Axios, 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
  • Dark Winds took an explicit turn with its social and political commentary in its second season; as a result, the dialogue occasionally veered into goofy literalness, and many of its heavy-handed lines were given to Emma.
    Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2025
  • There’s a Moon Alert all day, which adds to the delays and goofy energy and restricts your spending to food and gas.
    Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Somewhere up there in Hoops Heaven, Stormin’ Norman Sloan is one giddy Gator who is almost certainly feeling validated and vindicated about the SEC’s basketball awakening.
    Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Indian cricket legend Harmanpreet Kaur was euphoric, roaring loudly into the Mumbai sky and echoed by 15,000 giddy fans at the Brabourne Stadium.
    Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Futile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/futile. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.

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