Meaning & use
futility
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Meaning
noununcountableformal
The fact that an effort is pointless because it can never succeed.
Grammar: Usually has no plural: the futility of arguing.
Patterns
- the futility of something
- the futility of doing something
He soon saw the futility of arguing with the referee.
The futility of the search became clear after the third day.
She felt a deep sense of futility as the pile of work grew.
Common combinations
- the futility of war
- The poem reflects on the futility of war.
- a sense of futility
- A sense of futility settled over the volunteers.
- realize the futility
- They realized the futility of waiting any longer.
- sheer futility
- The sheer futility of the plan was obvious.
- feelings of futility
- Long unemployment can bring feelings of futility.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pointlessness
- Pointlessness is plainer and everyday, while futility sounds more serious and resigned.
- uselessness
- Uselessness can describe an object or person, but futility describes an effort or attempt.
- vanity
- Vanity in this older sense means emptiness of effort, and it is rare and literary today.
- hopelessness
- Hopelessness is about feelings of no hope, while futility is the fact that the action cannot work.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: futility or fertility?
futility vs fertility
Fertility is the ability to produce young or crops, and it looks similar but has no link to pointless effort.
Practice
Facing the flood with only a few buckets, the villagers understood the ___ of their efforts.
Choose one answer.
Futility means the efforts could not work. Utility means usefulness, which is the opposite, and the other options change the meaning entirely.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “futility”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.