Synonym Chooser

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

The words fruitless and vain are common synonyms of futile. While all three words 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

How do fruitless and vain relate to one another, in the sense of futile?

Fruitless comes close to vain but often suggests long and arduous effort or severe disappointment.

fruitless efforts to obtain a lasting peace

When could vain be used to replace futile?

The words vain and futile 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 futile But without Congress actually enacting the DOGE cuts into law, history will show this entire exercise to have been largely futile. Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025 The president has not signaled his next move as weeks of futile negotiating with Putin have dragged on. Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 29 May 2025 Questioning proved futile, so investigators searched for hard evidence. Sarah Beckwith, New Yorker, 26 May 2025 The film may be rife with despair, but its own power is proof that art isn’t entirely futile. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for futile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for futile
Adjective
  • Barca even took a legal case against the regulations to a Catalan court but were unsuccessful.
    Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 19 June 2025
  • The family's attempts to halt Oliva's deportation were unsuccessful.
    Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
Adjective
  • Jeff: This has been such a silly way to seed the in-season tournament.
    Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 21 June 2025
  • Wishing you a weekend of in-season snacks, silly time with old friends, and political victories of any size.
    Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 20 June 2025
Adjective
  • However, disciplined conduct on the part of the activists and the intervention of other bystanders renders the attacks useless.
    Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025
  • Pine needles mixed with all the other fine debris rendered the guards useless.
    Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 14 June 2025
Adjective
  • Dead Snow, though, bearing a poster that’s as good as the actual film, prides itself on its constant assault of goofy violence.
    Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 18 June 2025
  • Despite the lack of bombast, The Alters tells a compelling and heartfelt narrative, with some goofier moments to break up the unrelenting drama.
    Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 14 June 2025
Adjective
  • Relief, their long-simmering attraction, and their giddy pride in having invented espionage cookery lead Antonin and Agathe to bang in the carriage back home.
    Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 11 June 2025
  • Del Toro’s early roles (in 1990s cult films such as The Usual Suspects and Excess Baggage) smacked of knockoff Marlon Brando: all movement, mumbling charm, and giddy chaos.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Futile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/futile. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.

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