FUTILE Synonyms: 116 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

futile

adjective

ˈfyü-tᵊl

Definition of futile next

as in unsuccessful

producing no results the prison is so well guarded that all attempts to escape have been futile

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in silly

lacking in seriousness or maturity the futile chatter of gossip columnists about the comings and goings of Hollywood celebrities

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 In this brilliant late-career work, Morrison shows that the United States of America and Americans are constantly shaping and reshaping a complicated tale, and that silencing or erasing parts of it is futile. —

Time, 12 May 2026 Since efforts to end the war began, Trump has frequently switched between publicly projecting progress and dismissing the talks as futile. —

Steve Kopack, NBC news, 6 May 2026 But although resistance is similarly futile, their goals are less about assimilation than worshipping the obsessive Grant's wife, Starla (Elizabeth Banks). —

Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 May 2026 His father was a schoolteacher and a member of the Nazi Party; Baselitz, who was seven at the cessation of World War II, would later recall the smoke rising from firebombed Dresden as his mother hurried her children through the city in a futile attempt to escape the Russians. —

News Desk, Artforum, 1 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for futile

Recent Examples of Synonyms for futile

Adjective

Attempts to interview him were unsuccessful.

— Sierra van der Brug, Daily News, 28 May 2026
Trump has denied Carroll’s allegations against him and tried to appeal both verdicts but has been unsuccessful in both cases, putting him on the verge of having to pay out millions.

— Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026