futility

noun

fu·​til·​i·​ty fyü-ˈti-lə-tē 

plural futilities

1

: the quality or state of being futile : uselessness

His speech focused on the futility of violence.

2

: a useless act or gesture

the futilities of debate for its own sake

—W. A. White

Examples of futility in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reading through Carnot’s book a few decades later, in 1865, the German physicist Rudolf Clausius coined a term for the proportion of energy that’s locked up in futility. —Zack Savitsky, Quanta Magazine, 13 Dec. 2024

Filmmakers have been telling comparable stories for years — see Liz Garbus and Jonathan Stack’s The Farm: Angola, USA, or Ava DuVernay’s 13th, among many others — and the futility is baked in. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2025

Not bad, considering the team is coming off setting a modern record for futility and has an atrophied season ticket base. —Jon Greenberg, The Athletic, 25 Jan. 2025

But Abdi-Bahri suggests the feelings of futility that Nazanin must be experiencing. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French and Latin; French futilité, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin fūtilitāt-, fūtilitās (also futtilitāt-, futtilitās) "unprofitableness, uselessness," from fūtilis, futtilis "brittle, fragile (of containers), serving no purpose, pointless" + -itāt- -itās -ity — more at futile

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing futility

• exercise in futility

Kids Definition

futility

noun

fu·​til·​i·​ty ˌfyu̇-ˈtil-ət-ē 

plural futilities

1

: the quality or state of being futile

2

: a useless act