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 Sprinkled on either side of that play in the same red zone period, however, were several fruitless attempts to move the ball. Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2025 Similar poor political calculus sustained the Soviets’ ultimately fruitless occupation of Afghanistan in another war of choice. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025 Dr M'Benga's efforts to regenerate Gamble's eyes prove fruitless, as he's left to guess how much of his protégé's personality remains. Richard Edwards, Space.com, 7 Aug. 2025 Even after three innings and five fruitless at-bats with runners in scoring position, the Padres did not seem hopeless. Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fruitless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fruitless
Adjective
  • The new complaint was filed 20 years after Burrowes first claimed in an unsuccessful civil case that Combs may have put out a hit on Shakur and Knight.
    Gina Barton, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
  • All have been unsuccessful due to his status as a suspect in multiple violent crimes.
    Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The local Rite Aid was getting ready to shut down, with barren shelves and 75% off all items, while commerce elsewhere in the town of less than 3,000 people wasn’t exactly bustling.
    David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • While flying a shuttlecraft, she gets sucked into a wormhole and crashes onto a barren moon.
    Adam B. Vary, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • And, perhaps most dangerous still, these dreams of modernity shine an unwanted light on the futile hardship of the family’s status quo.
    Adam Solomons, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2025
  • This alternating strategy is futile.
    Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Dealing with the horrors of the situation in Gaza within the sterile environment of a call center, its workers are feeling increasingly hopeless, caught in the political crossfire of an escalating situation.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
  • For the first time, a technological tool seemed to truly understand us—not as a sterile database, but as a conversational partner.
    Avital Pardo, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • This method is a significant departure from traditional chemical recycling techniques like pyrolysis, which operate at lower temperatures (450–600°C) and produce over a hundred different by-products, many of which are useless.
    Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Economists usually look at new jobs, but immigration is now very low, making that figure useless as a measure of how the economy is doing.
    Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Given his laborious and unfruitful season thus far, fans began speculating that Hamilton could potentially retire or move back to Mercedes, due to his current issues.
    Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2025
  • From Sonos’ side, this could just be a logical conclusion to a somewhat unfruitful partnership with mid-tier products that the brand itself increasingly competes directly with.
    Parker Hall, Wired News, 7 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fruitless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fruitless. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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