Synonym Chooser

How is the word fruitless different from other adjectives like it?

The words futile and vain are common synonyms of fruitless. While all three words mean "producing no result," fruitless comes close to vain but often suggests long and arduous effort or severe disappointment.

fruitless efforts to obtain a lasting peace

When might futile be a better fit than fruitless?

The words futile and fruitless are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, futile may connote completeness of failure or unwisdom of undertaking.

resistance had proved so futile that surrender was the only choice left

When can vain be used instead of fruitless?

The words vain and fruitless 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 fruitless Hoping the broadcasts ignore that will always be a fruitless endeavor. Patrick Iversen, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025 The first attempt of tech analyst Avi Greengart, president of Techsponential, to try out Ray-Ban Display turned into a fruitless retail odyssey across northern New Jersey. Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 4 Oct. 2025 Over Washington and Havana’s largely fruitless attempts at diplomacy during the Cold War, both parties considered the base as a bargaining chip of sorts, a leverage to pull in the interest of military de-escalation or possible normalization of diplomatic relations. Miriam Pensack, The Dial, 30 Sep. 2025 Imagine if the federal government sent hundreds of engineers, or teachers, or outreach workers to Portland, instead of a short, expensive, and fruitless show of force. Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fruitless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fruitless
Adjective
  • The Mellon family foundation did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment, and attempts by the Times to reach Mellon were unsuccessful.
    Nino Paoli, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
    Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • An arid, barren landscape with extreme temperature swings from 45 to -40 degrees Celsius (113 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit).
    Rosanna Philpott, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
  • There's a naivety and sweetness to them that's ripped away in an instant when the two passionately make love in the barren house, the inciting incident for the demise of their relationship.
    Billie Melissa, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Understanding each other is futile.
    Jake Coyle, Boston Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
  • The court fights all proved futile, however.
    George Avalos, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • To combat the spread of the flies, the USDA disperses sterile flies into the area to stop the mating, a scientific method known as sterile insect technique (SIT).
    Lori Ann LaRocco, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Not seeing the bigger picture led to gray kitchens that felt sterile, flat, or at odds with their own style.
    Heather Bien, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • But to borrow Manidis’s framework, the drive to create such a tool conflates useless toil with meaningful labor.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The rules of grammar were useless now, and never truly rules.
    Sam Lipsyte, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The restaurant owned by Dan McCormick taking over the former Village Tavern location, which closed in October 2024, when its lease ran out and negotiations proved unfruitful.
    Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Homosexual life, by contrast, is one of unfruitful stasis and sterile repetition.
    Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fruitless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fruitless. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on fruitless

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