fruitless

/ˈfɹuːtləs/

//ˈfɹuːtləs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fruitless" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fruitless” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,469. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,469
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Bearing no fruit; barren.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fruitless · fruitless · English

fruitless · rank #27,469 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #27,469
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH friar

Nearest frequency peer: friar (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “fruitless”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “fruitless” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fruitless vs faultless
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fruitless
PropertyValue
Headwordfruitless
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈfɹuːtləs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#27,469
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fruitless” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).fruitless lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around fruitless (IPA /ˈfɹuːtləs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #27,469 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for fruitless, with forms such as "ffruitless", "friutless", and "frruitless". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "faultless", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English fruytles; equivalent to fruit + -less. Compare Middle English withouten fruyt (“fruitless”, literally “without fruit”). The correct English form is fruitless, spelled F-R-U-I-T-L-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bearing no fruit; barren.
  2. 2
    Unproductive, useless.
  3. 3
    Of a person: unable to have children; barren, infertile.
  4. 4
    Of a diet, etc.: without fruit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fruitless appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [S]he [Rachel Carson] also warned of falls in which "there was no pollination and there would be no fruit." […] The entomologist Stephen L. Buchmann and the crop ecologist Gary Paul Nabhan amplified Carson's warning in their 1996 book, The Forgotten Pollinators. They predicted fruitless falls unless our land-use patterns changed fast. But few people paid…
  2. The unskilled man’s attempt at fixing his car engine was fruitless.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fruytles; equivalent to fruit + -less. Compare Middle English withouten fruyt (“fruitless”, literally “without fruit”).

This word in other languages

infructuoso(Español)abortif(Français)fruchtlos(Deutsch)infrutífero(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffruitless
  • friutless
  • frruitless
  • fruiltess
  • fruitelss
  • fruitles
  • fruitlless
  • fruitlses
  • fruittless
  • frutiless
  • furitless
  • rfuitless

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fruitless - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffruitless1friutless2frruitless1fruiltess2fruitelss2fruitles1fruitlless1fruitlses2
Edit distance from "fruitless"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fruitless"?
"fruitless" is spelled F-R-U-I-T-L-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɹuːtləs/.
What does "fruitless" mean?
As an adjective, "fruitless" means: Bearing no fruit; barren.
What words are commonly confused with "fruitless"?
"fruitless" is commonly confused with "faultless". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fruitless"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fruitless" is /ˈfɹuːtləs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fruitless"?
Inherited from Middle English fruytles; equivalent to fruit + -less. Compare Middle English withouten fruyt (“fruitless”, literally “without fruit”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fruitless", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

flavoured#27,463grassland#27,482Hampstead#27,485enriching#27,446

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Hatfield12 variantsimpotent12 variantsdepraved12 variantsdecadent12 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "fruitless". Here's where to go from here.

  • This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "faultless". View pair
  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #27,469 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "F" letter cohort. F–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list