noun
futility
fyoo-TIL-uh-tee/fjuːˈtɪləti/
The inability to produce a useful result.
Water pouring through the bottomless bucket reveals the futility of trying to fill it.
Etymology
The suffix makes the quality expressed by futilis into a noun. Behind its meaning of worthlessness lies the image of something leaky or unreliable, extended to effort that produces no useful result.
In context
Charles had a suffocating feeling of the futility of human effort when opposed by the malignity of Fate.
More examples
- She recognizes the futility of arguing with someone who refuses to listen.
- Digging with a plastic spoon is an exercise in futility.
- He keeps searching despite the apparent futility of his efforts.
Forms
futility
futile adjective — Unable to produce a useful result.
Similar words
- pointlessness
- Emphasizes the absence of purpose or worthwhile results.
- ineffectiveness
- Specifically describes failure to achieve an intended effect.