fruitless

adjective

fruit·​less ˈfrüt-ləs 

1

: unsuccessful

a fruitless attempt

2

: lacking or not bearing fruit

fruitlessly adverb

fruitlessness noun

Synonyms

• 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

But all efforts to apprehend the speedy vehicle’s unidentifiable driver were fruitless. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025

This not only proves fruitless, but the probes seem to be hastening the closing of the wormhole. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025

Such a move could trigger a separation-of-powers showdown, though one that some legal experts say could be fruitless due to years of precedent preventing such lawsuits. —Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 3 Sep. 2025

But in the end, all efforts proved fruitless. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2025

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