Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Producing no fruit.
  • adjective Not leading to success; unproductive: synonym: futile.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not bearing fruit; destitute of fruit or offspring: as, a fruitless plant; a fruitless marriage.
  • Productive of or attended by no advantage or good result; ineffective; useless; idle: as, a fruitless attempt; a, fruitless controversy.
  • Synonyms Barren, unprofitable, profitless Ineffectual, Unavailing, etc. (see useless); vain, idle, abortive, bootless, futile.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of offspring
  • adjective Productive of no advantage or good effect; vain; idle; useless; unprofitable

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Useless; unproductive.
  • adjective Bearing no fruit; barren.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective unproductive of success

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

fruit +‎ -less

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Examples

  • The extent of the division became further apparent as a German member of the ECB, Jürgen Stark, bluntly urged governments from the bloc of euro-using nations to halt what he called the "fruitless" discussion over a private-sector role in a new Greek bailout.

    Rift Over Greece Deepens in Europe Patrick McGroarty 2011

  • The extent of the division became further apparent as a German member of the ECB, Jürgen Stark, bluntly urged governments from the bloc of euro-using nations to halt what he called the "fruitless" discussion over a private-sector role in a new Greek bailout.

    Rift Over Greece Deepens in Europe Patrick McGroarty 2011

  • Frustrated with what she describes as fruitless and repetitive interviews, Ms. Abbas resigned from her Guantanamo post in 2002, and returned to another sales job in California.

    The Go-Between: Interpreting Life in Bermuda for Freed Gitmo Prisoners 2009

  • The results confirm that a gene known as "fruitless" is a key factor underlying sexual differences in behavior.

    I am not making this up 2006

  • Contentment must spring from the mind, and she who seeks happiness by changing anything but her own disposition, will waste her life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the things she wishes to remove.

    Archive 2009-02-01 2009

  • Contentment must spring from the mind, and she who seeks happiness by changing anything but her own disposition, will waste her life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the things she wishes to remove.

    Contentment 2009

  • "Contentment must spring from the mind, and she who seeks happiness by changing anything but her own disposition, will waste her life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the things she wishes to remove."

    Contentment 2009

  • This makes it possible to constantly move towards our goals and not get caught up in fruitless opportunity chasing.

    Weather Any Storm with a Flexible Blogging Plan | Write to Done 2008

  • George spent another ten minutes in fruitless argument, but without success.

    A New Beginning 2001

  • George spent another ten minutes in fruitless argument, but without success.

    A New Beginning 2001

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