as in uselessness
the quality or state of being useless
The two engaged in a long discussion on the futility of war. He felt saddened by the apparent futility of his efforts to console her.
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Recent Examples of futility
Perhaps the fire had been a sign, the universe trying to teach me about the impermanence of objects and the futility of collecting.
—
Kenneth Turan, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
In 2025, without Puig, the only records the Galaxy set were for futility, starting the season winless in their first 16 league matches and finishing with just seven wins, a franchise low for a full season.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Johnson’s run started out well — six playoff berths in 10 years, including two playoff wins against San Diego — but in the 15 years that have followed, the Jets have done a fine job of demonstrating that a big-market NFL team can match the futility of MLB’s worst small-market teams.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Gandy, the estuary program director, highlighted the futility of human intervention on Florida’s Gulf Coast, which has morphed over thousands of years.
—Jack Prator, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for futility
Kenneth Turan, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
In 2025, without Puig, the only records the Galaxy set were for futility, starting the season winless in their first 16 league matches and finishing with just seven wins, a franchise low for a full season.
—Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Johnson’s run started out well — six playoff berths in 10 years, including two playoff wins against San Diego — but in the 15 years that have followed, the Jets have done a fine job of demonstrating that a big-market NFL team can match the futility of MLB’s worst small-market teams.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Gandy, the estuary program director, highlighted the futility of human intervention on Florida’s Gulf Coast, which has morphed over thousands of years.
—Jack Prator, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for futility
Recent Examples of Synonyms for futility
Noun
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Holding back tears, Marta called out the uselessness of comparing this season to last year’s championship run.—
Tamerra Griffin,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Additional data shows that the lack of in person connection is quickly becoming a relationship crisis, with 78% of Bumble users sharing that anxiety and stress to present themselves as perfect lead to hopelessness in finding someone, which in turn has lessened the rates of offline relationships.—
Rachel Burchfield,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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Another 2022 study from Rutgers University, focused on COVID-19 news, found that greater daily exposure to news about the virus was linked to higher same-day and next-day worry about the pandemic as well as feelings of hopelessness and general worry.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Goff pointed to ineffectiveness on first down in the second half, forcing the offensive line into situations where Los Angeles could turn to its powerful pass rush.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Dec. 2025
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Mike Vrabel has blamed his squad’s ground ineffectiveness on his RB stable being too ball-security focused.—
Brad Evans,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Brands that rely solely on AI risk not just irrelevance, but inefficacy.—
Sean DallasKidd,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
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As research highlighted the inefficacy and unintended consequences of these laws, states rolled them back or modified them, mostly by partially repealing them or reducing the severity of mandatory sentences.—
John Leverso,
The Conversation,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The state has since stated that the medical center has corrected the deficiencies.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
24 Jan. 2026
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Older leaves often show the deficiency first.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Futility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/futility. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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