Word of the Day : October 16, 2020

futile \FYOO-tul\ adjective

Definition

1 : serving no useful purpose : completely ineffective

2 : occupied with trifles : frivolous

Did You Know?

Futile broke into 16th-century English as a Latinate borrowing from Middle French. The Latin derivative, fūtilis, was used to describe things that are brittle or fragile and, by extension, things serving no purpose or being pointless. These meanings survive in the English futile, which denotes ineffectiveness or frivolousness. In 1827, English author Robert Southey found use for the word by blending it into utilitarian to form futilitarian, a word that is used for anyone who believes that human striving is futile—that is, ineffective and/or frivolous.

Aired October 16, 2020

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