fruitless

adjective

fruit·​less ˈfrüt-ləs How to pronounce fruitless (audio)
1
: unsuccessful
a fruitless attempt
2
: lacking or not bearing fruit
fruitlessly adverb
fruitlessness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for fruitless

futile, vain, fruitless 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

vain usually implies simple failure to achieve a desired result.

a vain attempt to get the car started

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

fruitless efforts to obtain a lasting peace

Examples of fruitless in a Sentence

They made a fruitless attempt to find a solution. It would be fruitless to continue.
Recent Examples on the Web Security Council diplomats say that tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine—the topic of scores of fruitless UN debates since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022—are undermining discussions of unrelated issues in Africa and the Middle East. Richard Gowan, Foreign Affairs, 9 Nov. 2023 Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee Mark Green, R-Tenn., was seen on the House floor attempting to convince Gallagher to switch his vote, but those efforts later proved fruitless. USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2024 After attending a ceremony in May commemorating her dead son and others killed in Romania’s 1989 revolution, a despondent mother — driven to despair by more than three decades of fruitless efforts to find out who murdered her 12-year-old boy — made a final plea for justice. Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2023 After decades of fruitless chatter about tech giants’ unchecked power, governments all at once are finally doing something about it. Ariel Shapiro, The Verge, 24 Jan. 2024 Coverage of his personal appearances focused on his obvious discomfort in meeting with strangers and his fruitless efforts to laugh or even crack a smile, which tended to produce only a hideous facial rictus. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024 But when the Warriors needed buckets down the stretch in the fourth quarter, those shot attempts near the hoop came up fruitless again and again. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2024 Some experts say that having a board led by someone who isn’t the CEO, and is preferably not a former CEO either, better protects investors from hubristic leaders who might otherwise underperform, sink shareholder funds into fruitless pet projects, or ignore a brewing crisis. Bylila MacLellan, Fortune, 14 Nov. 2023 That decision, with no public explanation, launched a fruitless petition campaign in protest by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. David Bauder, Fortune, 9 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fruitless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English fruytles, frutles, from fruyt, frut fruit entry 1 + -les -less

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fruitless was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near fruitless

Cite this Entry

“Fruitless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fruitless. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fruitless

adjective
fruit·​less ˈfrüt-ləs How to pronounce fruitless (audio)
1
: not bearing fruit
2
: producing no good results : unsuccessful
a fruitless attempt
fruitlessly adverb
fruitlessness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on fruitless

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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