English Explanatory Dictionary

fruitless

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Bearing no fruit; barren.
  2. Unproductive, useless.
  3. Of a person: unable to have children; barren, infertile.
  4. Of a diet, etc.: without fruit.

Pronunciation

/ˈfɹuːtləs/ /ˈfɹutləs/ /ˈfɹʉːtləs/ en-au-fruitless.ogg

Word forms

fruitless more fruitless most fruitless fruitlesse

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fruytles; equivalent to fruit + -less. Compare Middle English withouten fruyt (“fruitless”, literally “without fruit”).

Synonyms

bootless barren futile fruitless gainless idle inane ineffectual inefficacious inutile no good otiose pointless profitless purposeless tired unavailing unprofitable unuseful unutilizable useless vain void

Antonyms

fruitful effective efficacious productive useful

Derived words

fruitlessly fruitlessness

Translations

Azerbaijani: barsız Azerbaijani: sonsuz Dutch: onvruchtbaar Esperanto: senfrukta Esperanto: sterila Esperanto: malfekunda Estonian: viljatu German: unfruchtbar Greek: άκαρπος Hungarian: terméketlen Hungarian: meddő Khmer: អារ Sanskrit: वन्ध्य Swedish: ofruktsam Thai: หมัน
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