futile
pronunciation
How to pronounce futile in British English: UK [ˈfjuːtaɪl]
How to pronounce futile in American English: US [ˈfjuːtl]
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- Adjective:
- producing no result or effect
- unproductive of success
Word Origin
- futile
- futile: see found
- futile (adj.)
- "incapable of producing result," 1550s, from Middle French futile or directly from Latin futilis, futtilis "vain, worthless, futile," a figurative use, literally "pouring out easily, easily emptied" (the Latin adjective used as a noun meant "a water vessel broad above and pointed below"), hence "leaky, unreliable," from fundere "to pour, melt," from PIE root *gheu- "to pour" (see found (v.2)). Related: Futilely.
Synonym
Antonym
Example
- 1. Inner peace eliminates negative , futile and restless thinking .
- 2. It 's one of the many reasons dieting is futile for everyone .
- 3. Futile , because if people really want medicines , they can easily get hold of them .
- 4. Mr mahbubani 's asian triumphalism is as futile and unconvincing as the western triumphalism he deplores .
- 5. Chinese workers are above all pragmatic and the prospect of joining a large-scale demonstration seems risky and futile to most .