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
W. A. WhiteExamples of futility in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Real estate agents — a professionally optimistic lot — cannot shake a gnawing sense of futility.
—Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Lions fans celebrating the win and NFL fans tuning in seemed to be in disbelief that the Lions — yes, the Lions — are this close to the Big Game after decades of futility.
—Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2024
Jorge Soler will put an end to that streak of futility in 2024.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
This policy demonstrated to Palestinians both the futility of negotiating with the Netanyahu government and the inability of the PA to provide basic security.
—Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 4 Jan. 2024
Doesn’t this encourage more bad feelings: solipsism, nihilism, futility?
—Lauren Oyler, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024
During a particularly putrid stretch of futility, football historians had to go back to the Dayton Triangles during the 1920s to find a team that lost so often.
—Larry Lage, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024
The pandemic, which drove home the futility of advance planning, exacerbated that change.
—Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2024
Salesian ended a decade-long run of Open Division futility by playing the game like only Richmond school could.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024
Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Lions fans celebrating the win and NFL fans tuning in seemed to be in disbelief that the Lions — yes, the Lions — are this close to the Big Game after decades of futility.
—Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2024
Jorge Soler will put an end to that streak of futility in 2024.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
This policy demonstrated to Palestinians both the futility of negotiating with the Netanyahu government and the inability of the PA to provide basic security.
—Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 4 Jan. 2024
Doesn’t this encourage more bad feelings: solipsism, nihilism, futility?
—Lauren Oyler, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024
During a particularly putrid stretch of futility, football historians had to go back to the Dayton Triangles during the 1920s to find a team that lost so often.
—Larry Lage, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024
The pandemic, which drove home the futility of advance planning, exacerbated that change.
—Mary Carole McCauley, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2024
Salesian ended a decade-long run of Open Division futility by playing the game like only Richmond school could.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'futility.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near futility
Cite this Entry
“Futility.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/futility. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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