fruitless

adjective

fruit·​less ˈfrüt-ləs 

1

: unsuccessful

a fruitless attempt

2

: lacking or not bearing fruit

fruitlessly adverb

fruitlessness noun

Synonyms of fruitless

• unsuccessful
• futile
• useless

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

Trying to find an explanation for why a claim was denied is a fruitless task. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Remote club-to-club conversations had proved fruitless, so senior figures travelled by Eurostar to Lille and an initial €60m deal was struck on Monday. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026

So far, this search has been frustratingly fruitless — but the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment may have finally caught a glimpse. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 2 Sep. 2026

But Pleasants, who has been getting some one-on-one reps at left guard amid a so-far fruitless battle for that starting position, looked like the best option there against the Chargers. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for fruitless

• bootless
• rootless

Kids Definition

fruitless

adjective

fruit·​less ˈfrüt-ləs 

1

: not bearing fruit

2

: producing no good results : unsuccessful

a fruitless attempt

fruitlessly adverb

fruitlessness noun