Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 20, 2024 is: futile \FYOO-tul\ adjective

An effort, action, or emotion described as futile has no result or effect, and therefore serves no useful purpose.

// City officials attempted to stifle the scandal, but their efforts were futile.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/futile)

Examples:

“... when resolve is wearing thin and hope feels futile, sometimes the only thing left to do is laugh.” — Cassidy George, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2023

Did you know?

Attempts to pinpoint the first use of the phrase “resistance is futile” may ultimately be futile—that is, pointless or [in vain](https://bit.ly/4aQiNpo)—but that hasn’t stopped folks from trying. Popular in movies and television series from Star Trek to Stargate, Veronica Mars to Napoleon Dynamite, the slogan is often uttered by an [antagonist](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antagonist) who wants to make it clear in no uncertain terms that they will be the one to prevail in the onscreen struggle. Some people point to a 1976 episode of [Doctor Who](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Doctor-Who) in which a character called The Master says “Resistance is futile now,” while others prefer the quote without the now, holding up a 1977 episode of Space: 1999 as being the first to feature it. However, author Randall Garrett had both shows beat in his 1961 short story “The Highest Treason,” in which a character says “Not if they … can prove that resistance is futile.” Despite its clear importance to futuristic science fiction, however, the word futile has ancient roots. It comes from the Latin adjective fūtilis/futtilis, which was used to describe things that are brittle or fragile and, by extension, serve no purpose. These meanings survive in the English word futile, which denotes ineffectiveness.