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
But unlike peers such as Jack Nicholson, who embodied the era’s rebellious, searching spirit, Hackman often played men who tried to work within the system, discovering the futility of such a stance.
—
Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2025
It’s been three full weeks of offensive futility, a slump plaguing nearly the entire roster.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 3 May 2025
There were veiled references to the American positions throughout the conference, though delegates were reluctant to openly criticize the U.S.
Later, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke of the futility of seeking to turn the clock back to a world that no longer exists.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Not all wars are conducted at such a high intensity as the Russian-Ukrainian war, but even prolonged irregular warfare can take a heavy toll, resulting in a growing sense of futility in addition to mounting costs.
—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for futility
Tim Grierson, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2025
It’s been three full weeks of offensive futility, a slump plaguing nearly the entire roster.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 3 May 2025
There were veiled references to the American positions throughout the conference, though delegates were reluctant to openly criticize the U.S.
Later, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke of the futility of seeking to turn the clock back to a world that no longer exists.
—Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
Not all wars are conducted at such a high intensity as the Russian-Ukrainian war, but even prolonged irregular warfare can take a heavy toll, resulting in a growing sense of futility in addition to mounting costs.
—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for futility
Recent Examples of Synonyms for futility
Noun
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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
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The solution is to test AI agents thoroughly to identify any inefficacies.—
Theo Schnitfink,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
These common attacks are caused by security deficiencies, including Active Directory misconfigurations, weak password policies, permissive access rules and weak authentication mechanisms.—
Reuven Aronashvili,
Forbes.com,
7 May 2025
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Due to the amount of sodium in the standard American diet, sodium deficiencies are quite rare.—
Angelica Bottaro,
Verywell Health,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Futility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/futility. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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