Synonyms for futile

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1. To no purpose

   vain, unavailing, useless, in vain, fruitless, hopeless, impractical, worthless, impracticable, unprofitable, to no effect, not successful, abortive, profitless, valueless, unneeded, resultless, unsatisfactory, unsatisfying, ineffective, ineffectual, bootless, unproductive, to no avail, idle, empty, nugatory, hollow, barren, exhausted, unreal, delusive, unsubstantial, visionary.

   Antonyms effective, fruitful, effectual.

2. Frivolous

   trifling, petty, unimportant, small; see trivial.

futile is applied to that which fails completely of the desired end or is incapable of producing any result; vain also implies failure but does not have as strong a connotation of intrinsic inefficacy as futile; fruitless stresses the idea of great and prolonged effort that is profitless or fails to yield results; that is abortive which fails to succeed or miscarries at an early stage of its development; that is useless which has proved to be ineffectual in practice or is theoretically considered to be of no avail