View source for futile

==English==

===Etymology===
{{root|en|ine-pro|*ǵʰew-}}
From {{uder|en|frm|futile}}, from {{uder|en|la|fūtilis}}. Related with {{m|en|god}} through Indo-European.

===Pronunciation===
* {{IPA|en|/ˈfjuː.taɪl/|a=UK}}
* {{audio|en|LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-futile.wav|a=Southern England}}
* {{IPA|en|/ˈfju.taɪl/|/ˈfju.taɪ.əl/|/ˈfju.təl/|[ˈfju.ɾəl]|a=US}}
* {{homophones|en|feudal|qq1=some US accents}}
* {{rhymes|en|uːtəl|s=2}} {{qualifier|US}}

===Adjective===
{{en-adj}}

# {{cap|incapable}} of [[produce|producing]] [[result]]s, [[useless]]; [[doom]]ed [[not]] to be [[successful]]; not [[worth]] [[attempt]]ing.
#* {{RQ:Hardy Far from the Madding Crowd|passage=But Bathsheba, though she could feel, was not much given to '''futile''' dreaming, and her musings under this head were short and entirely confined to the times when Troy’s neglect was more than ordinarily evident.}}
#* {{RQ:James Confidence|chapter=XXI|passage= He seemed hitherto to have been living by proxy, in a vision, in reflection—to have been an echo, a shadow, a '''futile''' attempt;{{...}}}}
#* {{RQ:Churchill Celebrity|chapter=IV|page=46|passage=No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or{{...}}. And at last I began to realize in my harassed soul that all elusion was '''futile''', and to take such holidays as I could get, when he was off with a girl, in a spirit of thankfulness.}}
#* {{RQ:Birmingham Gossamer|chapter=I|passage=There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.{{...}}Stewards, carrying cabin trunks, swarm in the corridors. Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with '''futile''' energy, from place to place.}}
#* {{RQ:Wells Soul of a Bishop|passage=He wished he had not been saddled with Whippham's rather '''futile''' son as his chaplain.}}
#* {{quote-web|en|date=December 15, 2011|author=Marc Higginson|work=BBC Sport
|title=[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/16081794.stm Shamrock Rovers 0-4 Tottenham]
|passage=Goals from Steven Pienaar, Andros Townsend, Jermain Defoe and Harry Kane sealed the win, but Rubin Kazan's 1-1 draw against PAOK Salonika rendered Spurs' efforts '''futile'''.}}
# {{cap|insignificant}}; [[frivolous]].
#* {{RQ:Ruskin Stones of Venice|volume=II|page=120|passage=Of its history little is recorded, and that little '''futile'''.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=1905|author=w:George Santayana|title=Reason in Common Sense|series=w:The Life of Reason|volume=1|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/15000/pg15000-images.html|passage=This idiosyncrasy is brought out by social pressure, while in a state of nature it might have betrayed itself only in trivial and '''futile''' ways, as it does among barbarians.}}

====Synonyms====
* {{l|en|useless}}, see also [[Thesaurus:futile]]

====Antonyms====
* {{l|en|effectual}}
* {{l|en|effective}}
* {{l|en|fruitful}}

====Related terms====
* {{l|en|futilely}}
* {{l|en|futility}}
* {{l|en|futilitarian}}

====Translations====
{{trans-top|incapable of producing results}}
* Arabic: {{t|ar|عَقِيم}}
* Armenian: {{t+|hy|իզուր}}, {{t+|hy|զուր}}, {{t+|hy|ապարդյուն}}
* Belarusian: {{t+|be|бескары́сны}}, {{t+|be|дарэ́мны}}
* Bulgarian: {{t+|bg|безполе́зен|sc=Cyrl}}, {{t+|bg|напра́зен|sc=Cyrl}}, {{t+|bg|безуспе́шен|sc=Cyrl}}
* Burmese: {{t|my|အချည်းနှီးဖြစ်သေ}}, {{t|my|အလဟဿဖြစ်သော}}
* Catalan: {{t+|ca|fútil}}
* Cherokee: {{t|chr|ᎤᏚᎩᏄᏛᎾ|sc=Cher}}
* Chinese:
*: Mandarin: {{t+|cmn|無用|tr=wúyòng}}, {{t+|cmn|枉然|tr=wǎngrán}}, {{t+|cmn|無益|tr=wúyì}}
* Czech: {{t+|cs|jalový}}
* Danish: {{t+|da|nytteløs}}
* Dhivehi: {{t-needed|dv}}
* Dutch: {{t+|nl|nutteloos}}, {{t+|nl|tevergeefs}}
* Esperanto: {{t-needed|eo}}
* Estonian: {{t|et|kasutu}}, {{t|et|tulutu}}
* Faroese: {{t|fo|nyttuleysur}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|turha}}, {{t+|fi|tulokseton}}, {{t+|fi|toivoton}}; {{t+|fi|katteeton}} {{qualifier|of a promise}}
* French: {{t+|fr|futile}}
* Galician: {{t+|gl|fútil}}
* Georgian: {{t|ka|ფუჭი}}, {{t|ka|ამაო}}
* German: {{t+|de|sinnlos}}, {{t+|de|vergeblich}}, {{t+|de|nutzlos}}, {{t+|de|zwecklos}}
* Gothic: {{t|got|𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌺𐍃}}
* Greek: {{t+|el|μάταιος}}
*: Ancient: {{t|grc|μάταιος}}
* Hindi: {{t|hi|फ़ज़ूल|sc=Deva}}, {{t+|hi|अकारथ|sc=Deva}}
* Ido: {{t+|io|vana}}
* Italian: {{t+|it|futile}}
* Japanese: {{t+|ja|無用|tr=むよう, muyō|sc=Jpan}}, {{t+|ja|無駄|tr=むだ, muda|sc=Jpan}}, {{t+|ja|無益|tr=むえき, mueki|sc=Jpan}}
* Khmer: {{t+|km|អសារ|tr=a’saa|sc=Khmr}}
* Kurdish:
*: Northern Kurdish: {{t+|kmr|bêkêr}}, {{t+|kmr|bêfeyde}}
* Latin: {{t|la|futilis}}, {{t|la|cassus}}
* Lithuanian: {{t|lt|bergždžias|m}}
* Malay: {{t+|ms|sia-sia}}
* Maori: {{t|mi|mūhore}}, {{t|mi|papakore}}, {{t|mi|huakore}}
* Mirandese: {{t-needed|mwl}}
* Mongolian: {{t-needed|mn}}
* Navajo: {{t|nv|chʼééh}}
* Norwegian:
*: Bokmål: {{t|nb|nytteløs}}, {{t|nb|nyttelaus}}
*: Nynorsk: {{t|nn|nyttelaus}}
* Occitan: {{t|oc|futil}}
* Persian: {{t+|fa|عبث}}, {{t+|fa|بی فایده}}, {{t+|fa|پوچ|tr=puč}}
* Polish: {{t+|pl|daremny|m}}, {{t+|pl|bezcelowy}}
* Portuguese: {{t+|pt|fútil}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|бесполе́зный}}, {{t+|ru|тще́тный}}, {{t+|ru|беспло́дный}}, {{t+|ru|напра́сный}}
* Scottish Gaelic: {{t|gd|dìomhain}}, {{t|gd|faoin}}
* Slovak: {{t+|sk|márny}}, {{t|sk|zbytočný}}, {{t|sk|nepatrný}}
* Spanish: {{t+|es|inútil}}, {{t+|es|vano}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|meningslös}}, {{t+|sv|lönlös}}, {{t+|sv|fåfäng}}
* Thai: {{t|th|เปล่าประโยชน์}}
* Turkish: {{t+|tr|beyhude}}, {{t+|tr|boş}}, {{t+|tr|nafile}}
* Ukrainian: {{t|uk|некори́сний}}, {{t|uk|даре́мний}}
* Vietnamese: {{t+|vi|vô dụng}}, {{t+|vi|vô ích}}
* Volapük: {{t-needed|vo}}
{{trans-bottom}}

==French==

===Etymology===
{{bor+|fr|la|fūtilis}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{fr-IPA}}
* {{audio|fr|Fr-futile.ogg}}
* {{rhymes|fr|il|s=2}}

===Adjective===
{{fr-adj}}

# {{l|en|futile}}

====Related terms====
* {{l|fr|futilité}}

===Further reading===
* {{R:fr:TLFi}}

==Italian==

===Etymology===
{{root|it|ine-pro|*ǵʰew-}}
From {{der|it|la|fūtilis||futile, worthless|lit=that easily pours out}}.

===Pronunciation===
{{it-pr|fùtile}}

===Adjective===
{{it-adj}}

# {{l|en|futile}}, [[frivolous]], [[worthless]]

====Derived terms====
* {{l|it|futilmente}}

====Related terms====
* {{l|it|futilità}}

===Further reading===
* {{R:it:Trec}}

===Anagrams===
* {{anagrams|it|a=efiltu|fluite}}

==Latin==

===Etymology 1===

====Alternative forms====
* {{alter|la|futtile}}

====Adverb====
{{la-adv|fūtile|-}}

# [[in vain]]

=====Synonyms=====
* {{l|la|frustrā}}
* {{l|la|in cassum}}

===Etymology 2===

====Adjective====
{{head|la|adjective form|head=fūtile}}

# {{inflection of|la|fūtilis||nom//acc//voc|n|s}}

===References===
* {{R:L&S}}
* {{R:Elementary Lewis}}
* {{R:Gaffiot}}