bootless
Bearing no fruit
Bootless means futile or unavailing—producing no useful result.
The word has nothing to do with footwear; it comes from an old sense of boot meaning advantage or remedy.
A bootless errand accomplishes nothing.
A bootless effort yields no benefit.
The word is literary and archaic, found mainly in older texts: It is bootless to resist.
futility
Producing no useful outcome
- vainExcessively proud or futile
- unavailingProducing no result
- uselessWithout practical value
- pointlessLacking any purpose
purposeless · ineffectual · to no avail · in vain · hopeless · abortive · nugatory · otiose
fruitless
Producing no useful outcome
- vainExcessively proud or futile
- unavailingProducing no result
- uselessWithout practical value
pointless · purposeless · ineffectual · to no avail · in vain · hopeless · abortive · nugatory · otiose · empty
effectiveness/utility
bootlesseffective
Producing intended results
fruitful · productive · successful · efficacious · effectual