Fruitless

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fruitless \Fruit"less\, a.
     1. Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of
        offspring; as, a fruitless tree or shrub; a fruitless
        marriage. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. Productive of no advantage or good effect; vain; idle;
        useless; unprofitable; as, a fruitless attempt; a
        fruitless controversy.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              They in mutual accusation spent
              The fruitless hours.                  --Milton.
  
     Syn: Useless; barren; unprofitable; abortive; ineffectual;
          vain; idle; profitless. See {Useless}. --
          {Fruit"less*ly}, adv. -- {Fruit"lness*ness}, n.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  fruitless
       adj : unproductive of success; "a fruitless search"; "futile years
             after her artistic peak"; "a sleeveless errand"; "a
             vain attempt" [syn: {bootless}, {futile}, {sleeveless},
              {vain}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  91 Moby Thesaurus words for "fruitless":
     abortive, acarpous, arid, barren, bootless, celibate, childless,
     counterproductive, desert, desolate, drained, dried-up, dry,
     effete, empty, etiolated, exhausted, failed, failing, fallow,
     fatuitous, fatuous, feckless, foiled, frustrated, futile, gainless,
     gaunt, gelded, idle, impotent, inadequate, inane, ineffective,
     ineffectual, inefficacious, infecund, infertile, inoperative,
     invalid, issueless, jejune, lame, leached, manque, menopausal,
     miscarried, miscarrying, nonfertile, nonproducing, nonproductive,
     nonprolific, nonremunerative, nugacious, nugatory, of no effect,
     of no force, otiose, pointless, profitless, rewardless, sine prole,
     sterile, stickit, stillborn, successless, sucked dry, teemless,
     thwarted, unavailable, unavailing, uncultivated, unfertile,
     unfortunate, unfruitful, unplowed, unproductive, unprofitable,
     unprolific, unremunerative, unrewarding, unsown, unsuccessful,
     untilled, useless, vain, virgin, waste, wasted, without issue,
     worthless