Useless vs Futile - What's the difference?
useless | futile |
Without use or possibility to be used.
Unhelpful, not useful; pointless (of an action).
(pejorative, of a person) good-for-nothing; not dependable.
(colloquial, of a person) unable to do well at a particular task or thing. Useless is mildly insulting.
Incapable of producing results; useless; not successful; not worth attempting.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or
*
*:There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.Stewards, carrying cabin trunks, swarm in the corridors. Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place.
*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 15, author=Marc Higginson, work=BBC Sport
, title=
Futile is a synonym of useless.
As adjectives the difference between useless and futile
is that useless is without use or possibility to be used while futile is incapable of producing results; useless; not successful; not worth attempting.useless
English
Adjective
(en-adj)- This fork has prongs that are bent. It's useless now.
- I think it's useless to keep this discussion going. It's like talking to a wall.
- I tried my best to make him quit smoking, but my efforts were useless . He now smokes six packs a day.
- Bill never mows the lawn, takes out the trash or anything. He's useless , but I love him anyways.
- My brother is useless at most computer games, but he is an awesome PS2 player.
- Why do you keep trying? You're obviously useless at it.
Synonyms
* (good-for-nothing) good-for-nothing * (unable to do well) unskillfulAntonyms
* skillful, usefulDerived terms
* uselessly * uselessnessfutile
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Shamrock Rovers 0-4 Tottenham, passage=Goals from Steven Pienaar, Andros Townsend, Jermain Defoe and Harry Kane sealed the win, but Rubin Kazan's 1-1 draw against PAOK Salonika rendered Spurs' efforts futile .}}
