FRUITLESSNESS Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

fruitlessness

noun

as in barrenness

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of fruitlessness But one series with four minutes remaining highlighted the fruitlessness of this effort. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fruitlessness

Noun

Shunammite, once so determined to get her period, is staring down the possibility of barrenness and, in Gilead, that means spinsterhood.

— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026
Clearly, her absurd office dredged its barrenness from her.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026

Definition of barrenness

Noun

Cabrera’s return was short-lived, as the right-hander is once again dealing with a blister issue on top of more ineffectiveness.

— Jayson Stark, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
The commission has been plagued by partisan infighting and ineffectiveness, as well as chronic vacancies and a lack of funding.

— Jen Fifield, ProPublica, 10 July 2026

Definition of ineffectiveness

Noun

Prioritize Lasting Placements Over Speed In staffing, speed is a vanity metric.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Most Popular In Oona’s bathroom the tiles are from Country Floors, the vintage mirror is from Venice, Italy, and the vanity is an antique chest that was converted to a vanity with fittings by Waterworks.

— Sara Ruffin Costello, Architectural Digest, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of vanity

Noun

The impunity of the powerful was measured by the inefficacy of the outraged.

— Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026
When on day five of his mayoralty Zohran Mamdani acknowledged the inefficacy of homeless sweeps and avowed to end them, street homeless adults, advocates, and attorneys rejoiced.

— Deborah Berkman, New York Daily News, 24 Feb. 2026

Definition of inefficacy

Noun

The problem isn’t the characterization, since the surgeon is extremely well drawn and Văncică’s performance picks up on both the overall inner emptiness and the yearning for something more.

— Jay Weissberg, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026
If the early universe obeyed this rule, our modern cosmos would be devoid of substance, just energy fields rippling eternally through emptiness.

— Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of emptiness

Noun

Although the wealthy Gulf oil states and small slivers of Arab elites flourished within this system, for most people the American order meant only violence, hopelessness, and deprivation.

— MARC LYNCH, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
But in recent months and years, a sense of hopelessness has increasingly gripped those still remaining on the island.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of hopelessness

Browse Nearby Words

fruitless

fruitlessness

fruits

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Fruitlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fruitlessness. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of fruitlessness

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

august

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes