1
: unsuccessful
a fruitless attempt
2
: lacking or not bearing fruit
fruitlessly adverb
fruitlessness noun
Examples of fruitless in a Sentence
They made a fruitless attempt to find a solution. It would be fruitless to continue.
Recent Examples on the Web
Any attempt to poke the bear seemed fruitless. —
Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026 Predicting their draft leanings is often a fruitless endeavor, for the media and for players themselves. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026 Dallas led early after the Wild made a fruitless early push. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2026 Gilead’s action became public at the end of March, when the international health organization Médicins Sans Frontières, or MSF, published an open letter detailing its fruitless yearlong effort to purchase a supply of lenacapavir from the company. —Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fruitless
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026 Predicting their draft leanings is often a fruitless endeavor, for the media and for players themselves. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026 Dallas led early after the Wild made a fruitless early push. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 10 Apr. 2026 Gilead’s action became public at the end of March, when the international health organization Médicins Sans Frontières, or MSF, published an open letter detailing its fruitless yearlong effort to purchase a supply of lenacapavir from the company. —Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fruitless
Cite this Entry
“Fruitless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/fruitless. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fruitless
adjective
fruit·less ˈfrüt-ləs 
1
: not bearing fruit
2
: producing no good results : unsuccessful
a fruitless attempt
fruitlessly adverb
fruitlessness noun
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