1
general::
pointless
not likely to have a useful result:
• She knew it would be pointless to argue with him. • The meeting was a pointless exercise.
futile
completely pointless because there is no chance at all of being successful:
• She shut the door in a futile attempt to keep the smell out. • Their efforts proved futile (= did not have any success ) .
useless
not useful or effective in any way:
• I knew it was useless to try to explain to him what had happened. • The map we had been given was useless.
hopeless
having no hope of being successful or effective:
• It was a hopeless task. • He was jumping up and down in a hopeless attempt to keep warm.
be a waste of time/money/effort
to be not worth the time, money etc that you use because you do not achieve anything:
• The whole process was a complete waste of time. • The scheme was a waste of money.
Longman-Thesaurus
2
general::
adj. VERBS be, seem | become | consider sth, think sth She considered it pointless to plan in too much detail. ADV. absolutely, quite, totally, utterly | a bit, fairly, rather, somewhat | apparently
Oxford Collocations Dictionary