Futile

Antonyms for futile:

useful, realizable, effective, fruitful, productive.

Synonyms for futile:

Sense 1

outworn, muted, flaccid, facile, defective, inefficient, impossible, loafing, small-time, defunct, Overworked, nonoperational, infertile, muddled, unhelpful, uninformative, bum, flabby, toothless, moribund, spent.

Sense 2

unproven, empty, dysfunctional, cumbersome, paper, losing, porous, unresponsive, unreliable, inoperable, anemic, bush-league, paralyzed.

Sense 3

inactive, temperamental.

Sense 5

old.

Sense 6

barren.

Sense 10

dead.

discouraging

hopeless.

empty

idle.

luckless

ill-starred.

needless

unnecessary.

profitless

nonproductive.

Other synonyms and related words:

delusive, impossible, frothy, defective, inefficient, trivial, egotistic, toothless, conceited, unreal, self-conceited, ditzy, silly, barren, inconstant, empty, uneffective, indolent, null, worthless, swollen, temperamental, slothful, uninformative, unresponsive, nugatory, unnecessary, superfluous, unproductive, profitless, bum, outworn, unprofitable, otiose, inoperable, faineant, spent, unavailing, infertile, senseless, unsubstantial, unable, puerile, muted, Overworked, birdbrained, hopeless, dizzy, vapid, loafing, lazy, baseless, wasted, dead, bootless, paralyzed, frivolous, purposeless, defunct, idle, sleeveless, goofy, muddled, unimportant, egotistical.

all (adjective)

unavailing, ineffectual, otiose.

failing (adjective)

unsuccessful.

feckless (adjective)

good-for-nothing, hopeless.

hopeless, pointless (adjective)

unreal, worthless, unavailing, idle, fruitless, ineffectual, empty, otiose, useless, bootless, profitless, impractical, ineffective, vain, unsubstantial, delusive, nugatory, abortive, unimportant, trivial, barren, unsuccessful, unprofitable, unproductive.

impossible (adjective)

unworkable.

losing (adjective)

losing.

unprofitable (adjective)

barren.

unsuccessful (adjective)

unsuccessful, pointless, foiled, frustrated, vain, ineffectual, thwarted, fruitless, abortive, failed, useless.

useless (adjective)

fruitless, ineffectual, nonfunctional, impractical, unworkable, inadequate, otiose, good-for-nothing, unusable, unsuitable, useless, ineffective, bootless, unserviceable, detrimental.

futile (noun)

fruitless, otiose, vain, ineffectual, unproductive, unavailing, bootless, sleeveless, useless.

Usage examples for futile:

• He appeared to be making futile efforts to rise from his seat. - "Amusement Only", Richard Marsh.
• Kitty's efforts were futile; she began to weaken from the choking. - "The Last of the Plainsmen", Zane Grey.
• He made one or two futile efforts to speak, and then unconsciously used the words Shakespeare has put into the mouth of Macduff, " All my pretty 'uns!" - "Jackanapes, Daddy Darwin's Dovecot and Other Stories", Juliana Horatio Ewing.