fruitlessness
/'fru:tlisnis/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The quality or state of being fruitless; lack of results or success: The condition of failing to achieve a desired or useful outcome.
- Lack of productiveness or creativity: The absence of fruitful ideas, imagination, or valuable output.
Usage
- Fruitlessness is an uncountable noun used to describe situations, efforts, or periods that are unproductive or yield no positive results. It often conveys a sense of frustration or wasted effort.
Examples
- The fruitlessness of their negotiations became apparent after months of talks with no agreement.
- He felt a deep sense of fruitlessness after years of research that led to no discoveries.
- The report highlighted the fruitlessness of the repeated attempts to solve the problem with the same failed methods.
Advanced Usage
- "The sheer fruitlessness of...": Used to emphasize the complete absence of productive outcome.
- The sheer fruitlessness of the task made him want to give up.
- "A sense/feeling of fruitlessness": Describes the emotional experience of engaging in unproductive work.
- A pervasive feeling of fruitlessness hung over the project team.
Variants and Related Words
- Fruitless (adj): Producing no good or useful result; unproductive.
- It was a fruitless search.
- Fruitfully (adv): In a productive or successful manner.
- The time was spent fruitfully.
Synonyms
- Futility: The quality of being futile; ineffectiveness.
- Unproductiveness: The state of not producing anything of value.
- Barrenness: The quality of being unproductive or infertile (often used metaphorically).
- Ineffectiveness: The quality of not producing any significant or desired effect.
Antonyms
- Fruitfulness: The quality of being productive or yielding good results.
- Productiveness: The state of producing abundantly.
- Effectiveness: The degree to which something is successful in producing a desired result.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- To no avail / In vain: Without success or a result. (This phrase describes an action with the same outcome as fruitlessness).
- They searched in vain for the missing document.
- A wild-goose chase: A futile search or pursuit.
- Investigating that rumor turned out to be a wild-goose chase.
Noun
- the quality of yielding nothing of value
- a lack of creative imagination