futile
/ˈfjuː.taɪl/
"futile" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“futile” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,367 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #17,367
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Incapable of producing results, useless; doomed not to be successful; not worth attempting.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | futile |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfjuː.taɪl/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #17,367 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “futile” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for futile is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfjuː.taɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,367 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for futile, with forms such as "ffutile", "ftuile", and "fuitle". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "future", "file", "fumble", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French futile, from Latin fūtilis. The correct English form is futile, spelled F-U-T-I-L-E.
Definition
- 1Incapable of producing results, useless; doomed not to be successful; not worth attempting.
- 2Insignificant; frivolous.
Etymology
From Middle French futile, from Latin fūtilis.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ffutile,ftuile,fuitle,futiel,futille,futlie,futtile,uftile
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of futile - 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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "futile"?
What does "futile" mean?
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Using “futile”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-U-T-I-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfjuː.taɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “future” - see the side-by-side comparison. futile vs future
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.