fu ‧ tile /ˈfjuːtaɪl $ -tl/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: futilis 'that pours out easily, useless' ]
actions that are futile are useless because they have no chance of being successful SYN pointless OPP worthwhile
a futile attempt/effort
a futile attempt to save the paintings from the flames
My efforts to go back to sleep proved futile.
it is futile to do something
It was futile to continue the negotiations.
—futility /fjuːˈtɪləti, fjuːˈtɪlɪti/ noun [uncountable] :
This sums up Owen’s thoughts on the futility of war.
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THESAURUS
▪ pointless not likely to have a useful result:
She knew it would be pointless to argue with him.
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The meeting was a pointless exercise.
▪ futile completely pointless because there is no chance at all of being successful:
She shut the door in a futile attempt to keep the smell out.
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Their efforts proved futile (=did not have any success) .
▪ useless not useful or effective in any way:
I knew it was useless to try to explain to him what had happened.
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The map we had been given was useless.
▪ hopeless having no hope of being successful or effective:
It was a hopeless task.
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He was jumping up and down in a hopeless attempt to keep warm.
▪ be a waste of time/money/effort to be not worth the time, money etc that you use because you do not achieve anything:
The whole process was a complete waste of time.
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The scheme was a waste of money.