futile

3 definitions found

futile - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Futile \Fu"tile\ (?; 277), a. [L. futilis that easily pours out,
     that easily lets loose, vain, worthless, from the root of
     fundere to pour out: cf. F. futile. See Fuse, v. t.]
     1. Talkative; loquacious; tattling. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Talkers and futile persons.           --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Of no importance; having no useful purpose; useless; vain;
        worthless; pointless. "Futile theories." --I. Taylor.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              His reasoning . . . was singularly futile.
                                                    --Macaulay.
        [1913 Webster]

futile - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  futile
      adj 1: producing no result or effect; "a futile effort"; "the
             therapy was ineffectual"; "an otiose undertaking"; "an
             unavailing attempt" [syn: futile, ineffectual,
             otiose, unavailing]
      2: unproductive of success; "a fruitless search"; "futile years
         after her artistic peak"; "a sleeveless errand"; "a vain
         attempt" [syn: bootless, fruitless, futile,
         sleeveless, vain]

futile - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  147 Moby Thesaurus words for "futile":
     abortive, absurd, airy, apish, asinine, bad, barren, batty,
     befooled, beguiled, besotted, bootless, brainless, buffoonish,
     catchpenny, cockeyed, counterproductive, crazy, credulous, daffy,
     daft, dazed, dizzy, doomed, doting, dumb, effete, empty, etiolated,
     failed, failing, fatuitous, fatuous, feckless, flaky, flimsy, fond,
     fool, foolheaded, foolish, foredoomed, fribble, fribbling,
     frivolous, frothy, fruitless, fuddled, gaga, goofy, gulled, hollow,
     idiotic, idle, ill-advised, ill-considered, ill-suited, ill-timed,
     imbecile, impolitic, impotent, improper, in vain, inadequate,
     inadvisable, inane, inappropriate, inapt, incongruous, ineffective,
     ineffectual, inefficacious, inefficient, inept, inexpedient,
     infatuated, infelicitous, inoperative, inopportune, insane,
     insufficient, invalid, kooky, lame, light, loony, mad,
     mal a propos, malapropos, manque, maudlin, miscarried, miscarrying,
     moronic, nugacious, nugatory, nutty, of no effect, of no force,
     otiose, out of place, profitless, sappy, screwy, senseless,
     sentimental, shallow, silly, slender, slight, sterile, stickit,
     stillborn, stupid, successless, superficial, thoughtless, trifling,
     trite, trivial, unavailable, unavailing, unbefitting, undesirable,
     unfit, unfitting, unfortunate, unhappy, unmeet, unproductive,
     unprofitable, unsatisfactory, unseasonable, unseemly, unsuccessful,
     unsuitable, untimely, unwise, useless, vacuous, vain, vapid, wacky,
     wet, windy, witless, worthless, wrong