fruitlessness

noun

as in barrenness

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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 fruitlessness But one series with four minutes remaining highlighted the fruitlessness of this effort. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fruitlessness
  1. barrenness
  2. ineffectiveness
  3. unprofitability
  4. ineffectuality
  5. vanity
  6. inefficacy
  7. emptiness
  8. hopelessness
Noun
  • But many assumptions that Stratos’ investors or Utah politicians might have had about Box Elder County – about either the acquiescence of its people or the barrenness of its landscape – have been proved wrong over the past few months.
    — Melanie Stetson Freeman, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Shunammite, once so determined to get her period, is staring down the possibility of barrenness and, in Gilead, that means spinsterhood.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026
Definition of barrenness
Noun
  • However, September continued to showcase the club’s ineffectiveness at the plate.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Unfortunately, his ineffectiveness has begun to drastically affect Miami’s passing attack.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of ineffectiveness
Noun
  • There was a significant swing from unprofitability to profitability at the group, driven by a strong last quarter.
    — David Moin, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • However, ​entrepreneurs who take a more conservative growth approach with their startups are less likely to align with investors who have a low tolerance for prolonged unprofitability.
    — Richard Ceffalio, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of unprofitability
Noun
  • Caroline’s anguish and her ineffectuality at making progress in finding Gabriel make for some frustrating moments as a reader.
    — John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Definition of ineffectuality
Noun
  • Document which channels show actual engagement versus vanity metrics.
    — Jacquelyn LaMar Berney, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • My concerns were never about my ego or vanity, but about the truth of that world.
    — Kyle Maclachlan, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of vanity
Noun
  • The impunity of the powerful was measured by the inefficacy of the outraged.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
  • When on day five of his mayoralty Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the inefficacy of homeless sweeps and avowed to end them, street homeless adults, advocates, and attorneys rejoiced.
    — Deborah Berkman, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026
Definition of inefficacy
Noun
  • In all of the sketchbook entries reproduced here, Ross seems to offer a bridge between the representation of emptiness and the lived sensation of it.
    — Ryan Sullivan, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The suburbs promise space yet deliver emptiness, critics charge.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of emptiness
Noun
  • Women are more likely than men to report severe depression and hopelessness following breakups, but men are three to four times more likely to commit suicide.
    — George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026
  • This year's report finds that levels of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness among high schoolers have fallen in recent years – from 42% in 2021, to 40% in 2023 and 33% in 2025.
    — Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of hopelessness

Browse Nearby Words

fruitless
fruitlessness
fruits
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Cite this Entry

“Fruitlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fruitlessness. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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