having no purpose because there is no chance of success synonym pointless a futile attempt/exercise/gesture Their efforts to revive him were futile. It would be futile to protest. My appeal proved futile.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
NAmE//ˈfyut̮l̩i//
adverb NAmE//fyuˈtɪlət̮i//
noun [uncountable] a sense of futility the futility of warSee futile in the Oxford Advanced Learner's DictionaryCheck pronunciation: futile