摘要：“Futile”源自拉丁语“futilis”，意为“容易倒出的”或“无用的”。词根“fut-”与“fundere”（倒出）相关，最初用于形容容易倒出的容器，后来引申为“无用的”或“徒劳的”。这个词在16世纪进入英语，逐渐演变为描述那些无法产生实际效果的行为或努
futile
英 ['fjuːtaɪl] 美 ['fjuːtl]
adj.无效的；无用的
“Futile”源自拉丁语“futilis”，意为“容易倒出的”或“无用的”。词根“fut-”与“fundere”（倒出）相关，最初用于形容容易倒出的容器，后来引申为“无用的”或“徒劳的”。这个词在16世纪进入英语，逐渐演变为描述那些无法产生实际效果的行为或努力。
◉外刊例句
① 《纽约时报》, 2024-04-18
The government’s attempts to control inflation proved futile in the face of global economic pressures.
在全球经济压力下，政府控制通胀的努力被证明是徒劳的。
② 《卫报》, 2024-02-22
Activists argue that without systemic change, efforts to reduce carbon emissions are futile.
活动家们认为，没有系统性变革，减少碳排放的努力是徒劳的。
◉经典名著
① 《1984》（Nineteen Eighty-Four）, 乔治·奥威尔, 1949
Winston realized that his attempts to rebel against the Party were futile.
温斯顿意识到，他反抗党的努力是徒劳的。
② 《老人与海》（The Old Man and the Sea）, 欧内斯特·海明威, 1952
The old man’s struggle against the marlin was both heroic and futile.
老人与马林鱼的斗争既英勇又徒劳。
◉Usage Examples
(1) Pace considers attempts at timing futile.
(2) We are the Borg, Earth assimilation is inevitable, Resistant is futile!
(3) It is futile to attempt to convince him that certain things are simply undoable.
(1) 贝斯认为企图控制时间是无效的。
(2) 我们是博格，地球将被同化，抵抗是无效的！
(3) 使他相信某事情是完全不可为的是无用的尝试。
◉Usage Notes
When something fails to deliver a useful result, you can call it futile. Hopefully all the time you're spending studying vocabulary won't turn out to be futile!
Futile comes from the Latin futilis, which originally meant "leaky." Although we use futile to talk about more than buckets, the image of a leaky vessel is a good illustration of the adjective. Pouring water into a leaky bucket is futile. Your exercise program will be futile if you don't stop chowing down on chocolate. Futile is fancier than its synonym useless. Other synonyms are fruitless or vain. The i can be either short (FYOO-t'l) or long (FYOO-tile).
1. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]无益的；无用的；徒劳的 If you say that something is futile, you mean there is no point in doing it, usually because it has no chance of succeeding. [oft it v-link ADJ to-inf]
He brought his arm up in a futile attempt to ward off the blow...
他扬起胳膊徒劳地想要挡住这一拳。
It would be futile to sustain his life when there is no chance of any improvement.
如果没有任何好转的机会，继续维持他的生命也是无益的。
来源：学无用的英语